Another old-style drinking den given the boot

They used to be the place you would taste your first ale at 18 and have a pint with your dad.

The traditional pub is disappearing, however, replaced by bars targeting young professionals more likely to order a glass of wine than a bitter.

One of the latest pubs to make the change is The Marquis Wellington, in London Road, Leicester.

The pub – which used to stock more ales than wines – has now shifted its focus.

Matt McGuinness, from Cosmopolitan, which has taken over the running of The Marquis Wellington, said: "We have changed everything.

"We're aiming for the 21-plus market – people who don't want to go somewhere full of cheap student offers.

"There are a lot of offices around here, but nowhere for people to drink.

"We serve British food every night, we have a selection of spirits and ales and 60 wines.

"But I would say we are still a bit old-fashioned, even with the revamp."

The demise of the traditional pub was lamented by Keith Williams, chairman of the Leicester branch of the Campaign for Real Ale.

"The traditional pub is dying from our streets and community," he said.

"When I was younger, you would go to the pub with your dad and granddad.

"That pub would be where you had your first pint and where you carried on drinking. That doesn't happen any more.

"The business is no longer about the community, serving the working man.

"Those pubs are just not busy enough any more.

"This has been happening over the past 20 years – traditional pubs are declining."

Mr Williams said he drinks in the Tudor, in Tudor Road, Leicester.

"There are people drinking side by side from their 20s to their 80s, but that is rare nowadays," he said.

One example – Braunstone Gate in the city – was once full of old-fashioned pubs, Mr Williams said.

Now, only the Black Horse remains, among a cluster of bars.

One of Leicester's oldest pubs, Ye Olde Bowling Green, in Oxford Street, which dates from the early 1700s is now the Polar Bear, a popular hangout for De Montfort University students owned by the It's A Scream chain.

Richard Matthews, Midlands secretary of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), said pubs were closing at a rate of 36 a week nationally in the first six months of this year and owners had to look at ways to make them more attractive.

Where, decades ago, workers from Leicester's thriving factories would head to the nearest pub for a drink after work, many of these once-popular watering holes lie empty.

Many have been demolished or converted.

The smoking ban, credit crunch and cheap alcohol being sold in supermarkets have contributed to the rate of closures increasing, on top of changing tastes and drinking habits.

Richard said: "People need a reason to go to the pub and spend money, and putting on food is a good way of encouraging customers to buy drinks."

Drinkers Matt Harvey and Lorna Blake, from Clarendon Park, Leicester, said they liked the changes made to The Marquis Wellington.

Matt, 34, said: "It's more of a place I would come after work for a drink now.

"I don't want to be stuck in a time warp when I go for a drink."

Lorna, 26, said: "I didn't come in here much before.

"It's now better than the crowded student pubs."