But in reality it is only continuing a trend started in Victorian days when Preston had no less than 460 public houses or beer houses within the old borough boundaries.

The demand for licensed premises was fuelled by industry and the need for cotton workers to quench their thirst after a day of toil.

Ironically the inns were seen by many as the curse of the working classes and campaigners such as Joseph Livesey, the leader of the Temperance Movement, never tired of calling for abstinence.

The Matthew Brown brewing empire was developed in the middle of the 19th century from his flagship pub the Anglers Inn in Pole Street.

The name Matthew Brown was over many a local public house that provided ale at a penny a pint and stayed open for 20 hours a day. He became famous as a brewer with a beer called 'Old Tom' that was supplied throughout the town.

Nostalgia seems to surface whenever a public house closes and Preston's old inns are no exception.

Those with memories that go back before the Second World War will tell you of the Craven Heifer on North Road.

North Road stretched from Church Street to Garstang Road. Along its length licensed premises such as the Sir Walter Scott, the Queen's Hotel, the Hero of Vittoria, the Three Tuns, the Sitting Goose and the Apollo hoped to tempt the thirsty traveller.

And the stretch, then flanked by rows of terraced homes where maisonettes and industrial units now stand, once had a Mill Tavern, Iron Duke, Old Royal George, New Royal George and a Lord Nelson on the corner of Sedgwick Street. There was a New Inn, Garricks Head, Rose and Crown and Morning Star.

A trip from the Rosebud, at the junction with London Road that was demolished in 1988, to the Hesketh Arms would have left few souls sober after visits to the likes of the Carter's Arms, Queen Adelaide, General Codrington, New Hall Lane Tavern, Belle Vue and Acregate.

Yet this paled into insignificance when a journey along the almost parallel Ribbleton Lane was undertaken.

Beginning at the County Arms, which has just been reduced to rubble, a stag party of 70 years ago could visit the Old Oak, Star Hotel, Anchors Weighed, Albert Hotel, Guild Inn, New Sun Inn, Third Duke Of Lancaster, Derby Inn, Skeffington Arms and Old England all before last orders.

Such affection may seem out of place for a hostelry that had sawdust on the floor, spittoons, an out of tune piano, but to the inn's regulars it was a place to cherish. To many Englishmen his home is his castle and his inn a palace of pleasure.

The names still conjure up memories. The Anglers Inn was demolished in 1968 after serving the town since 1840. It was a reminder of Matthew Brown's heyday with the figure of an angler above its entrance.

Back in 1962 it was last orders at the Kings Arms on the corner of Miller Arcade. Known by locals as the Long Bar, on account of its 45ft bar, it was a popular drinking place for many Scotsmen and its most famous landlord was Hughie O'Donnell, the FA Cup winning Preston North End player.

There is now no trace of the Theatre Hotel on Fishergate, nor its former neighbour the ABC Cinema with its 'Painted Wagon' basement bar.

The last drinks were served at the Theatre Hotel one lunchtime in 1987.
When regulars returned that night, the doors were locked.

In the summer of 1969 the town said farewell to the Port Admiral public house that stood on Lancaster Road at its junction with Saul Street.

The Ringway was about to sweep through and the first priority was to remove the landmark stone statues from its roof. Napoleon and Nelson, together with a woman naked except for a fig leaf, were carefully removed, along with the four crouching lions that had looked out from each corner.

Yet Preston still has many public houses that flourish with the legions of regulars who rejoice that it is not 'Time gentlemen please' throughout the city.

Perhaps though we should heed the warnings of Livesey who looked forward to the day when the pumps ran dry for the good of mankind.

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