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In the eighteenthy century, gin shops or 'dram shops' were just small shops (often originally chemist's shops as gin originally had medicinal associations) that sold gin mostly to take away, or to drink standing up. As the legislation changed establishments generally became larger; they also had to be licensed and sell Ale or Wine . In the late 1820s the first 'Gin Palaces' were built, Thompson and Fearon's in Holborn and Weller's in Old Street , London . They were based on the new fashionable shops being built at the time, fitted out at great expense and lit by Gas Light s. They were thought to be vulgar at the time, although hugely popular. Charles Dickens described them as "perfectly dazzling when contrasted with the darkness and dirt we have just left..." in his '' Sketches By Boz ''. The design hugely influenced all aspects of the design of later Victorian pubs, even after gin had declined in importance as a drink; the bar in pubs is based on the shop counter of the gin palace, designed for swift service and ideal to attach beer pumps to; the ornate mirrors and etched glass of the late nineteenth century. The term has survived for any pub in the late nineteenth century style; as this was the peak of pub building in Britain the style has become associated with the pub, even though no original gin palaces survive. Well preserved examples of the late nineteenth century style include The Princess Louise in Holborn and The Philharmonic Dining Rooms in Liverpool . EXTERNAL LINK REFERENCES
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