View source for Inn

{{short description|Establishment providing lodging, food, and drink}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Inns|the similar word with only one "n"|INS (disambiguation){{!}}INS}}{{refimprove|date=October 2013}}
[[File:King George Inn.JPG|thumb|[[King George II Inn]] in [[Bristol, Pennsylvania]], founded in 1681, the oldest inn in the United States]]
[[File:Roadside-inn-American-scenery.jpeg|thumb|''American Scenery—the Inn on the Roadside'', an 1872 portrait]]
'''Inns''' are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek [[lodging]], and usually, [[food]] and [[drink]]. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accommodation for [[horse]]s.

An '''innkeeper''' is the person who runs an inn.

==History==
[[Image:Tabard inn mid19th.jpg|right|thumb|The Tabard Inn in [[Southwark]], London, around 1850]]
[[File:Sultanhani - Fassade.jpg|thumb|Façade of [[Sultanhanı]] caravanserai in [[Aksaray Province]], Turkey]]
[[File:زین الدین.JPG|thumb|An August 2007 aerial view of [[Ribat of Zein-o-din|Zein-o-din]] caravanserai near [[Yazd]], Iran, one of a few circular caravanserai]]

Inns in Europe were possibly first established when the Romans built their system of [[Roman road]]s 2,000 years ago. Many inns in Europe are several centuries old. In addition to providing for the needs of travelers, inns traditionally acted as community gathering places.

Historically, inns provided not only food and lodging, but stabling and [[fodder]] for the travelers' horses, as well. Famous London examples of inns include [[The George Inn, Southwark|The George]] and [[The Tabard]]. However, there is no longer a formal distinction between an inn and several other kinds of establishments: many [[pub]]s use the name "inn", either because they are long established and may have been formerly [[coaching inn]]s, or to summon up a particular kind of image.

Inns were like [[bed and breakfast]]s, with a community dining room which was also used for town meetings or rented for wedding parties. The front, facing the road, was ornamental and welcoming for travelers. The back also usually had at least one livery barn for travelers to keep their horses. There were no lobbies as in modern inns; rather, the innkeeper would answer the door for each visitor and judge the people whom he decided to accommodate, it was up to the visitors to convince the innkeeper for accommodation. In some English towns, bye-laws would require innkeepers to offer all visitors a bed.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Mortimer |first=Ian |url=https://archive.org/details/timetravellersgu0000mort_p5o4/page/164/mode/2up?q=bed |title=The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century |publisher=Vintage |year=2009 |location=London |pages=143–146|isbn=9781845950996 }}</ref> Many inns were simply large houses that had extra rooms for renting. An inn may have had several uses, for example, Goat Inn, Bottle Bank "a pub 'where a person could get drunk, commit an offence, and be arrested, tried and sentenced without leaving the building', because it had other rooms which were used as a police station and a court"<ref>{{Cite book |last=Morgan |first=Alan |title=Victorian Panorama |date=October 2007 |publisher=Tyne Bridge Publishing |isbn=9781857951042 |pages=89}}</ref>

In 14th-century England, the courtyards of the inns were often not paved or cobbled but rather flattened earth or mud. These inns would be made of two-story timber framed buildings with steep shingle roofs. Stable boys were in charge of stabling horses at the rear yard of the inn where they are watered and fed. Usual foods served included pottage, bread and cheese with ale for drinking. In some towns, innkeepers are only allowed to offer food and drinks to guests. The better managed inns would place fresh rushes on the floor, mixed with rose petals, lavender and herbs. Lighting would be dim, as candles were made of tallow. For toilet facilities, inns would simply provide a seat and a barrel which were emptied every morning. Beds would accommodate more than one man, sometimes even a dozen.<ref name=":0" />

During the 19th century, the inn played a major role in the growing transportation system of England. Industry was on the rise, and people were traveling more in order to keep and maintain business. The English inn was considered an important part of English infrastructure, as it helped maintain a smooth flow of travel throughout the country.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Chartres|first1=John|title=The Eighteenth-Century English Inn: A Transient "Golden Age"?|year=2002 |publisher=Ashgate|isbn=0-7546-0341-5|page=211}}</ref>

As modes of transport have evolved, tourist lodging has adapted to serve each generation of traveler. A [[stagecoach]] made frequent stops at roadside coaching inns for water, food, and horses. A passenger train stopped only at designated stations in the city center, around which were built [[Hotel#Railway hotels|grand railway hotels]]. Motorcar traffic on old-style two-lane highways might have paused at any camp, cabin court, or [[motel]] along the way, while freeway traffic was restricted to access from designated off-ramps to side roads which quickly become crowded with [[hotel chain]] operators.

The original functions of an inn are now usually split among separate establishments. For example, hotels, [[Lodging|lodges]] and [[motel]]s might provide the traditional functions of an inn but focus more on lodging customers than on other services; public houses (pubs) are primarily alcohol-serving establishments; and restaurants and [[tavern]]s serve food and drink. (Hotels often contain restaurants serving full breakfasts and meals, thus providing all of the functions of traditional inns. [[Economy limited service|Economy, limited service]] properties, however, lack a kitchen and bar, and therefore claim at most an included [[continental breakfast]].)

The lodging aspect of the word ''inn'' lives on in some hotel brand names, like [[Holiday Inn]], and the [[Inns of Court]] in London were once accommodations for members of the legal profession. Some laws refer to lodging operators as ''innkeepers''.

==Forms==
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2019}}

Other forms of inns exist throughout the world. Among them are the [[honjin]] and [[ryokan]] of [[Japan]], [[caravanserai]] of Central Asia and the Middle East, and jiuguan in ancient China.

In [[Asia Minor]], during the periods of rule by the [[Seljuk dynasty|Seljuk]] and [[Ottoman Turks]], impressive structures functioning as inns ({{langx|tr|[[:tr:Han (konaklama)|han]]}}) were built because inns were considered socially significant. These inns provided accommodations for people and either their vehicles or animals, and served as a resting place to those traveling on foot or by other means.

These inns were built between towns if the distance between municipalities was too far for one day's travel. These structures, called caravansarais, were inns with large courtyards and ample supplies of water for drinking and other uses. They typically contained a café, in addition to supplies of food and fodder. After the [[Caravan (travellers)|caravans]] traveled a while they would take a break at these caravansarais, and often spend the night to rest the human travelers and their animals.

==Usage of the term==
The term "inn" historically characterized a rural hotel which provided lodging, food and refreshments, and accommodations for travelers' horses. To capitalize on this nostalgic image many typically lower end and middling modern motor hotel operators seek to distance themselves from similar [[motel]]s by styling themselves "inns", regardless of services and accommodations provided. Examples are [[Choice Hotels|Comfort Inn]], [[Days Inn]], [[Holiday Inn]], [[Knights Inn]], and [[Premier Inn]].

The term "inn" is also retained in its historic use in many laws governing motels and hotels, often known as "innkeeper's acts",<ref>Innkeepers Act, RSA 2000, c I-2, Consolidated Statutes of Alberta; Innkeepers Act, RSNL 1990, c I-7, Consolidated Statutes of Newfoundland and Labrador; Innkeepers Act, RSO 1990, c I.7, Consolidated Statutes of Ontario</ref> or refer to hôteliers and motel operators as "innkeepers" in the body of the legislation<ref>Hotel Keepers Act, RSBC 1996, c 206, Consolidated Statutes of British Columbia</ref><ref>Civil Code of Québec, LRQ, c C-1991, Division III: Deposit with an Innkeeper</ref> These laws typically define the innkeepers' liability for valuables entrusted to them by clients and determine whether an innkeeper holds any lien against such goods. In some jurisdictions, an offense named as "[[Dine and dash|defrauding an innkeeper]]" prohibits fraudulently obtaining "food, lodging, or other accommodation at any hotel, inn, boarding house, or eating house";<ref>{{cite web|url=http://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2010/title-43/chapter-21/article-1/43-21-13/ |title=§ 43-21-13 - Defrauding innkeeper :: 2010 Georgia Code :: US Codes and Statutes :: US Law :: Justia |website=Law.justia.com |access-date=2014-07-13}}</ref> in this context, the term is often an anachronism as the majority of modern restaurants are free-standing and not attached to coaching inns or tourist lodging.

==Gallery==
{{Gallery
|File:Cott inn.jpg |The [[Cott Inn]] at Cott, Dartington, Devon, UK dates from 1320
|File:Östervåla 133.JPG|[[Östervåla]] Inn, Sweden, interior 
|File:GästgivargårdenKvibille.jpg|[[Kvibille]] Gästgivargård (Inn), Sweden, dating from 1645
|File:Skivarps gästgivaregård 2018 - 01.jpg|[[Skivarp]]s Gästgivargård (Inn), Sweden, dating from 1680
|File:Sahkon kievari building in Huittinen Jun2012.jpg|Sahkon Kievari ("Sahko's Inn") in [[Huittinen]], Finland
|File:15345 Nõmme kõrtsihoone5.jpg|Nõmme Kõrts, an inn in [[Nõmme]], [[Tallinn]], Estonia
|File:Sheep's Heid Inn.jpg|Sheep's Heid Inn, [[Edinburgh]], Scotland, interior
|File:Yelverton Inn.jpg |[[Yelverton Inn and Store|Yelverton Inn]], in [[Chester (village), New York|Chester]], New York, U.S.
|File:Albanian Inn.JPG |An Albanian inn, interior
|File:Garrick Inn (8061945280).jpg |The Garrick Inn, [[Stratford-upon-Avon]], England, is a timber framed building dating back to the 15th century.
|File:Angel Inn, Highgate, N6.jpg |Angel Inn, Highgate, north London, England
|File:Thunder Bay Inn.jpg |The Thunder Bay Inn in [[Big Bay, Michigan|Big Bay]], Michigan, U.S.
|File:The Exeter Inn.jpg|The [[Exeter Inn]], [[Exeter, New Hampshire]], U.S.
|File:Vila Capivari, Campos do Jordão.JPG|The Villa D'Biagy Inn in [[Campos do Jordão]], Brazil
|File:Зеница - Сердаревића (Херцегов) хан срушен 1927. године.jpg|Serdarević's Inn, across present-day Hadži Mazića house in Old Čaršija street in [[Zenica]], Bosnia and Herzegovina
|File:Senosios_karčemos,_Žeimelis.JPG|A row of historic inns in [[Žeimelis]], northern [[Lithuania]]
}}

==See also==
* [[Bed and breakfast]]
* [[Caravanserai]], the Middle Eastern equivalent
* [[Hostel]]
* [[Hostler]], a groom who takes care of a traveler's horse

==References==
<references />

==Further reading==
* Burke, Thomas (1927) ''The Book of the Inn: being two hundred pictures of the English inn from the earliest times to the coming of the railway hotel''; selected and edited by Thomas Burke. London: Constable
* Burke, Thomas (1930) ''The English Inn''. (English Heritage.) London: Herbert Jenkins
** (1947) Revised. (The Country Books.) London: Herbert Jenkins
* Everitt, Alan (1985) "The English Urban Inn", in his: ''Landscape and Community in England''. London: Hambledon Press {{ISBN|0907628427}} (''The Oxford Companion to Local and Family History'' (ed. David Hey), 1996, describes this as "the starting point for modern studies [of inns]"; Everitt described most of the previous literature on the topic as "a wretched farrago of romantic legends, facetious humour and irritating errors")
* Douch, H. L. (1966) ''Old Cornish Inns and their place in the social history of the County''. Truro: D. Bradford Barton
* Monson-Fitzjohn, G. J. (1926) ''Quaint Signs of Olde Inns''. London: Herbert Jenkins (reissued by Senate, London, 1994 {{ISBN|1-85958-028-9}})
* Richardson, A. E. (1934) ''The Old Inns of England''. London: B. T. Batsford
* Sherry, John (1972) ''The Laws of Innkeepers; for hotels, motels, restaurants and clubs''. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press {{ISBN|0801407028}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|inn}}
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikivoyage|Sleep}}
* [http://www.congleton-cheshire.co.uk/congleton_inn_signs.htm Congleton's ancient Inn Signs]
* [http://www.closedpubs.co.uk The Lost Pubs Project]: Lost and closed pubs of the UK.

{{Hotel}}
{{Tourism}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Hotel types]]
[[Category:Types of drinking establishment]]