ONCE there were 30 pubs in Pershore but over the years the number has dwindled until now townspeople and visitors to the historic town have just 10 to choose from.

Local author Janet Daniels has recorded for posterity the drinking places in the town in her Pershore Pubs Past and Present, which she launched at the Pershore Plum Fair held on the late Summer Bank Holiday.

Mrs Daniels is a committee member of Pershore Heritage and History Society and Pershore Civic Society, which have financed the book. For the past few years she has been researching the history of a number of Pershore's old buildings, including the pubs and brought the book on pubs forward to commemorate the Queen's Golden Jubilee.

Research on pubs indicates long hours spent at the various bars but that was not the case with Mrs Daniels. She explained: "It must be something of a novelty for a female pensioner who does not drink beer nor normally frequent pubs to write such a book. I've had many a wink and a nod from people saying 'I bet you enjoyed the research!' while, in actual fact, the research came from old books and documents rather than bending the elbow."

In her introduction, Mrs Daniels says that Pershore has always been an ideal place to break a journey, especially in the old coaching days when it was necessary to change horses. Even in the 1651 at the time of the Battle of Worcester, Pershore was able to provide billeting for the troops.

Although coming under the general umbrella of public houses, Mrs Daniels says there have been many different types of drinking establishments through the ages. There were taverns, coaching inns, ale and beer houses, cider houses, even a butcher or baker with a room set aside for the sale of ale or beer, not to mention present-day wine bars and off-licence premises, such as the old Jug and Bottle.

Mrs Daniels explains the history of pub signs, the difference between ale and beer, and changes brought about by the various liquor laws.

There is just one pub in Pershore today that brews its own beer, the Brandy Cask, but Mrs Daniels recalls the days when many establishments owned breweries, including monasteries and abbeys, country houses and castles. "We know from the records that Pershore Abbey's monks had their own cellarman responsible for the ale they brewed. The census for the town in the 19th century show that 'maltster' was one of the many occupations recorded."

There were also cider mills in the town, the most sophisticated at the top of Newlands in Three Springs Road on the site where the BP garage stands today and was owned by John Knight. Another belonged to Samuel Dufty who had a cider mill in Newlands opposite the family home where there is at present a business selling reproduction furniture. At this mill a donkey would walk round and round to operate the press.

A Pershore-born man told Mrs Daniels that even in his youth as a university graduate there were certain pubs in the town that he would not, or could not, frequent.

One was the Angel Inn, because he said it was for the toffs and too posh for him. Another was the Miller's Arms because it was a "spit and sawdust" pub that again was not for the likes of him. Instead he would drink somewhere like the Plough that was considered to be middle of the road. "Such demarcation has long gone, hasn't it?" she says.

The book costs £4.99, and in a foreword Richard Hampton, Mayor of Pershore, says: "For those who wish to more than dream and wonder, here is some real research that brings colour and style to the past of Pershore. We are grateful to the author who takes us back to the days when Pershore was noted for the remarkable number of pubs per person."