To quote Stylist Magazine, [u]p until 1982, it was perfectly legal to refuse to serve women in British pubs, which were traditionally “male environments”.
Happily, this all changed in 1982, following the legal case of solicitor Tess Gill and journalist Anna Coote. The pair were banned from El Vino pub on Fleet Street for standing with their male colleagues at the bar, rather than sitting at the tables that women were confined to. They took their case to the Court of Appeal, where the ban was overturned in a landmark ruling – a massive win for women, who could no longer be refused service in pubs.
Looks like we're returning to traditional values.