Darlington CAMRA - The history ..
The Darlington Branch of the Campaign
for Real Ale was formed on
19th May 1982 in the Collector's Arms in Houndgate, a tiny bar above an antiques market off
Houndgate. It was a pub which had a short life but now has its place in
history.
The Collector's was a rarity in Darlington, not only in serving real ale but in also being a free-house. At the meeting no fewer than 63 people turned up; remarkable for an area with only 35 CAMRA members. Darlington CAMRA was up and running !.
The main focus of the campaign, to increase the availability and range of real ale has been extremely successful. Things were bad in Darlington in the 70's and 80's and traditional beer almost died out, and the area was one of the worst in England for a decent pint. Only around 50 out of 200 pubs in what is now the branch area served real ale, a total of around 15 different ales could be found. In Darlington itself the situation was much worse: just 11 pubs sold a grand total of 5 real ales.
Today the situation is much, much brighter. The branch area provides approximately 120 places to find cask beer with 80 different beers on offer, and Darlington itself can boast 20 outlets with 60 different ales.
However, all is not perfect. Independent breweries, particularly well established and family firms are still folding. Community pubs are disappearing fast, while pub chains are strengthening their stranglehold.
But without CAMRA things would be much worse. So join us in toasting "25 Years of Campaigning for Real Ale in Darlington".
Cheers !