In 2000, there were 67 pubs in Gravesend; at one time, there had been many more. Today, just 31 are still trading. As I write, the latest to close is The Peacock, which served its last pint on 1st January this year. As a whole, the UK loses about 500 pubs a year. With rising costs, streaming and home delivery keeping many of us on the sofa, is there a future for the British pub?

In 2000, there were 67 pubs in Gravesend; at one time, there had been many more. Today, just 31 are still trading. As I write, the latest to close is The Peacock, which served its last pint on 1st January this year. As a whole, the UK loses about 500 pubs a year. With rising costs, streaming and home delivery keeping many of us on the sofa, is there a future for the British pub?

On Thursday last, four well-dressed men arrived at the Globe Tavern, Gravesend, by a London Steam Packet. At their request they were accommodated with a bedroom and a sumptuous dinner, for which they paid and left for London the same afternoon. After they were gone, Mr. Lott, the proprietor, discovered that his bedroom had been broken into, and the bureau plundered of a pocket book containing £160.