Changing the culture of drinking: the public houses in Carlisle before and after the introduction of The State Management Scheme in 1916

Abstract

ABSTRACT Before the First World War, Carlisle, a city of 50,000 people, had a rich and varied social culture of public houses. War-time concerns, expecially relating to a large munitions factory at Gretna, prompted the creation of the Carlisle Experiment (later known as The State Management Scheme) which became an attempt, through government ownership and control of the breweries and public houses and through government-directed social engineering, including innovative pub-architecture and design, to change the drinking culture of the area. This paper contrasts, with detailed examples of architecture and design, the different drinking cultures in the city before and after the introduction of the Scheme.