In the early 1970s a group of women entered a pub in Sydney, Australia, and, when refused service, chained themselves to the bar in protest. It wasn’t quite like throwing yourself in front of the King’s horse, but it was a risky enough act in a country where the idea of women in pubs was still as foreign and subversive as that of men drinking wine.

Things have clearly changed, but back then pubs in Australia, as in many other countries, were strictly for the chaps.

Happily there has never been such barbarity here. There have been plenty of pubs where women might feel less than comfortable, with probably the same effect on most men, but British pubs have in general been welcoming to women.

This is no trendy recent fashion. Research suggests that even before the Second World War as many as 45 per cent of visits to pubs were made by women, with brewers doing their best to keep hold of this promising clientele.

Quite how to do that is anyone’s guess. Freshly cut flowers, soft seating, pastel colours, muted lighting, bingo and big discounts on vats of rubbish white wine have all been tried, all with predictable results, providing reassuring evidence that publicans are no better than anyone else at knowing what women want. Like all other factors that make a great pub, this one is a mystery, and long may it stay that way.

A good pub is a good pub, but some are clearly doing something right. The Women’s Institute is better known for conducting dealings in church halls, but the Fulham branch, in one of London’s more moneyed quarters, can find no better place to encourage the flow of ideas and togetherness than the Southern Cross, on the New Kings Road. And who can blame them? The drinks are good, the atmosphere’s amiable and, best of all, you can leave your chains at home.

Southern Cross, 65 New Kings Road, London SW6. 020-7736 2837.

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