The pub: it's been part of our landscape since time immemorial... hasn't it? And it's as English as the Cotswolds or the Yorkshire Dales... isn't it? Was there ever a time when there were no pubs? Who first had the idea that it would be jollier to drink your ale in the brewer's kitchen rather than in your own? And where do the French come into all this? These are just some of the questions Merrie England: The Medieval Roots of the Great British Pub seeks to explore.