ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that a combination of research methods to examine the inns and taverns in one region of England. England is fortunate in having a good survival of medieval and modern inn buildings in the streets of its provincial towns and country villages. Taverns were only allowed to operate in towns, supplying wine as well as food. The chapter also shows how the perceived idea of the English inn and tavern stands up to scrutiny in part of Sussex, a coastal county in the south-east of the country. A photographic record of the inns and service buildings has been invaluable in identifying former use, together with on-site sketches and the recording of architectural features inside and out. A hierarchy of inn signs and their supporting brackets and posts emerges from the documentation of the region, and contemporary illustrations reveal their forms.
