A bench in an alehouse where customers sat to drink beer, or more broadly any bench specifically for ale-drinking establishments.
From 'ale' (the beverage) + 'bench' (seating). Common in medieval and early modern England, where 'alebench' appeared in property inventories and pub records describing furniture in drinking establishments.
In medieval England, an 'alebench' was literally where the social action happened—taverns and alehouses were community centers where news spread, deals were made, and people solved problems over drinks. The alebench was the original office water cooler!
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