‘Last Orders’ aims to celebrate pubs, and the buildings they occupy during a time in which they were unwittingly neglected. 

Shot during March and April 2021, ‘Last Orders’ shows public houses with no public - buildings that have formed the backbone of communities for generations, but unable to serve them because of the pandemic.

Shutters down, doors closed and taps empty, these buildings were vacant, acting as relics of a lost social life. Devoid of people, pubs are nothing more than facades of fun, a reminder of what we had. Yet they’re still beautiful structures. Their intricate tiles, vibrant colours and elaborate signage is allowed to be viewed without obstruction and can be appreciated in a new light. 

Pubs were already struggling before Covid. More than 25% of UK pubs closed since 2001, according to an Office for National Statistics report in 2018. More recently, a Market Recovery Monitor report from February 2021 shows 12,000 pubs, bars and restaurants closed since December 2019, a rate of around 30 a day, or more than one every hour. 

January and February ‘21 were two of the toughest months the hospitality industry had ever seen, with 2,713 licensed premises lost in the UK in those months alone. More are likely to disappear, but as pubs finally opened up again in April, we were able to fully appreciate their important role in society once again.