Consuming the public house as social space

Thomas Thurnell-Read and Robert Deakin

Chapter 31 in Research Handbook on the Sociology of Consumption, 2026, pp 364-373 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: As a space where people can meet and socialise, the public house has long been recognised as an important feature of British cultural life. Theories of social capital are therefore relevant to examining the forms of sociability through pub-based consumption acts to create and maintain meaningful social ties between people. The chapter draws on semi-structured interviews with pub workers and focus groups of patrons to analyse how pubs are spaces in which consumption practices are a means of creating connections and maintaining meaningful social bonds. Findings show that pubs have an important function as spaces for different forms and levels of social interaction between friends, family and acquaintances. However, pubs can also be divisive spaces, and findings suggest that certain consumption practices and certain groups and/or individuals are accepted to differing degrees, and that these differences are shaped by age, gender and social class.

Keywords: Alcohol; Pubs; Sociability; Social capital; Social interaction; Social space (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035310500
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