In the days before the great Victorian
railway network was built people had to travel around by coach or on horseback.
As
journeys took a lot longer this meant that travellers needed somewhere
to stay over night. All across Britain there were a great number of inns
which gave people food and accommodation.
Pigot's
Directory of South Wales lists the inns in the Crickhowell
area in the early years of Queen Victoria's reign. The inns which put
up travellers by stage coach (like the Beaufort Arms here) needed
to employ a lot of local people to run the inn.
Servants
were needed to clean the rooms and look after the guests. There would be
boot boys to clean the travellers' boots and shoes, and grooms to look after
the horses. A cook and her assistants would be busy in the kitchen cooking
for the guests. From this you can see that the inns of the area would be
an important source of employment for local people in Victorian times.
.