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Introduction In writing The Altered State I found it helpful to keep a list of dates of legislation and other chronological landmarks. Early on in my research I came across Nicholas Dorn's idea that 'alcohol-related legilsation...reads like a roll-call of crisis-points in English history' (Alcohol, Youth and the State, Croom Helm, 1983), and this alerted me to the significance of much of the following material. Both the legislation and the interpretation of it by later commentators is fascinating and so I have left what was essentially a personalised timeline intact. This may account for any oddities and the noting of such things as the first introduction of bottled beer. In some instances I have not corrected the difference in dates when one writer uses the old-style calendar and another the new (March 25 was New Year's Day before 1752). The sources are Clark, The English Alehouse 1200-1830, Longmans, 1983, up to C19, and for C19 Harrison, Drink and the Victorians, unless otherwise stated or quoting legislation. For others, see Abbreviations.
959 Possibly the first legislation attempting to standardise weights/measurements, by King Edgar (the Peaceful, 959-75). '"And there shall be one system of measurement,
and one standard of weights such as in use in London and Winchester."'
A. J. Robertson considers that the reference to measurement may in fact
mean capacity. If his assumption is correct it means that from 959 onwards
the whole country came under the same system of capacity measurement,
which was an important milestone. There must remain, however, some slight
doubt as to whether this particular law was fully effective as the matter
is referred to again some 250 years later in Magna Carta.' (Monckton,
Ale, p.34). Edgar also responsible for the introduction of
pegs. The drinker was supposed to be limited to drinking down to a peg
inserted inside the drinking horn, but this became the occasion for drinking
contests - an early example of how drink-legislation can back-fire [see
1102]. Possibly gave rise to the phrase, to take someone down a peg.
Description of 'King Edgar's Ordinance Against Drinking' in Pierce
Penniless, p.106 in The Unfortunate Traveller..., Penguin,
1972. 997
'...King Aethelred II issued his third code of laws which were concerned
with the penalties for breaches of the peace. One of these specifically
refers to trouble in ale-houses: 'In the case of breach of the peace in
an ale-house six half marks shall be paid in compensation if a man is
slain, and twelve ores if no one is slain.'' (Monckton, Ale ,
p.36).
ELEVENTH CENTURY
Edward the Confessor, 1042-1066.
'Bracton tell us of a regulation of Edward the Confessor
that if any man lay a third night in an inn he was called a third-night-awn-hinde,
that is to say, he was looked upon in the same light as a servant of the
house would be, and the host was answerable for him if he committed any
offence...' (Bickerdyke, p.185). 1102 Decree from Bishop
Anselm: 'Let no priest go to drinking bouts, nor drink to pegs'. (Monckton,
Ale, p.39).
1188 Henry II introduces
first national levy on the malt liquor trade. Used to finance the war
against Saladin. Payment of one tenth of 'moveables' [stock-in-trade].
Known as the Saladin Tithe. (Monckton, Public, p.19).
1189 City Council, worried
about fire hazards: '...that all alehouses be forbidden except those which
shall be licensed by the Common Council of the City at Guildhall, excepting
those belonging to persons who will build of stone, that the city may
be secure. And that no baker bake, or ale-wife brew by night, either with
reeds or straw or stubble, but with wood only.' (Monckton, Public,
pp.18-19). 1200 Earliest statute
of foreign wine trade. Anjou wines not to be sold for more than 24s a
tun, Poitou wines no higher than 20s. Other French wines limited to 25s.
12 honest men in each town to superintend the assize. (French, p.78. His
source is Holinshed).
1215 Magna Carta, Article
No. 35, 'There shall be standard measures for wine, ale and corn. . .
.'
1228 Another levy (cf
1188). One fifteenth of 'moveables'. (Monckton, Public, 19).
1253 Nightwatchmen in
towns instituted. Abolished in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel's Act establishing
the Metropolitan Police Force.
1266 'The Assize of Ale
in 1266 was the first government attempt to regulate ale prices and reflected
the Crown's concern to peg them to the price of corn.' (24) [51st
year - 1267, Monckton, Ale, appendix]
1276 Assize. 'A gallon
of ale to be sold for three farthings and another for a penny and no dearer.'
First suggestion 'that two grades of ale at different prices could be
sold to the public' (Monckton, Public, p.21).
1277 Assize. 'And that
no brewster henceforth sell except by true measures viz., the gallon,
the pottle [half gallon] and the quart. And that they be marked by the
seal of the Alderman, and that the tun be of 150 gallons and sealed by
the Alderman.' 'This appears to be the first statutory reference to the
need for brewsters to have properly stamped measures for selling large
or small quantities of ale.' (Monckton, Public, p.21).
1283 'subsequent royal
ordinance set the price for better-quality ale at 1d. a gallon and weaker
drink at 1d.'
1285 'By the Statuta
Civitatis London., passed in 1285, taverns were forbidden to remain
open after curfew in the metropolis.' (Monckton, History)
1297 'In 1297 all forms
of national taxation came under the control of Parliament, and the Crown
therefore lost personal rights to this type of income.' (Monckton, History,
p.49)
1309 London population
30-40,000. 354 taverns, mainly wine, over 1330 'brewshops, brewing and
retailing ale' (p.21).
1315 'Edward II ordered
all taverns in London not to sell wine above 3d. a gallon.'
1330 ''Because there are
more taverners in the realm than were wont to be, selling as well corrupt
wines as wholesome, and have sold the gallon at such price as they themselves
would, because there was no punishment ordained for them, as hath been
for them that sell bread and ale, to the great hurt of the people,' that
wine must be sold at reasonable prices, and that the wines should be tested
twice a year - at Easter and Michaelmas, oftener if needful - and corrupt
wines poured out, and the vessels broken.' (French, pp.106-7).
1338 Wine taxed, 'on a
great emergency', because Edward III 'wanted a vast sum to pay the subsidies
which he had granted to his foreign allies.' (French, p.107).
1365 Act. ''The King wills
of his grace and sufferance that all merchant denizens that be not artificers,
shall pass into Gascoign to fetch wines thence, to the end and intent
that by this general licence greater liberty may come, and greater market
may be of wines within the realm; and that the Gascoigns and other aliens
may come into the realm with their wines, and freely sell them without
any disturbance or impeachment.'' (French, p.107).
1369 ? 42 Edward III,
c.8. 'wines forbidden to be brought into England save by Gascons and other
aliens.' (French, p.107). Act renewed the following year by his son the
Prince.
1375 'In London in 1375
it was ordered that no brewer should have a pole bearing his sign which
projected more than seven feet over the highway.' (Monckton, History,
p.52)
1378 'foreigners allowed
to sell wine in gross but not in retail' (French, p.107).
1381 'no sweet wines or
claret could be sold retail' (French, p.108)
1382 Price of foreign
wines once more regulated, (French, p.108).
1387 'no wine to be carried
out of the realm', (French, p.108).
1393 'Richard II ordered
that alehouses must exhibit a sign. This law included the following words:
"Whosoever shall brew in the town with intention of selling it must
hang out a sign, otherwise he shall forfeit his ale." This was directly
connected with the statutory obligation of summoning an ale-taster to
which reference has already been made [1330].' (Monckton, Public)
From the reign of Henry VI (1422-1461) onwards,
beer begins to replace ale, according to Bickerdyke, p.68 and p.143. 1450
(approx) Nottingham alehouses to close at 9.00pm
1483 1 R3 c.13, 'The Contents
of Vessels of Wine and Oil, which may not be sold till gauged' (conf.
1536). / 'malmsey should in future be imported only in butts of 126 gallons.
This measure was for the prevention of frauds on the revenue. It was repealed
by an Act of George IV.' (French, p.125).
1485 Henry VII passes
a law, 'that no Gascony or Guienne wines should be imported into any part
of his dominions,' unless in English, Irish or Welsh ships using E, I
or W sailors, (French, p.126).
1487 1485 law 'enlarged'
by this Act - 'no wines of Gascony or Guienee, or woads of Tholouse, should
be imported into England, except in ships belonging to the king or some
of his subjects; and that all such wines and woads imported in foreign
bottoms should be forfeited'. (French, p.126).
1488 Levy (cf 1188 and
1228) of one-fortieth of 'moveables'. (Monckton, Public, p.19).
1492 7 Henry VII, c.7.
- '(in order to counteract the duty of four ducats a tun lately imposed
by the Venetians) that 'every merchant stranger (except English born)
bringing malmseys into this realm, should pay 18s. custom for
each butt, over and above the custom aforetime used to be paid.' The price
of the butt was fixed at 4l.'
1496 'Two justices of
Peace may reject common selling of Ale, etc.' [Statutes at Large
1494. 1496?, see below] [Despite the confusion, I think this is
1496 - French and Bickerdyke have this date]
'Official licensing of alehouses was first sanctioned
by statute in 1495' [Ref? Poss Webbs, p.11, who give 11 Henry VII. c.2,
1495 as 'The earliest statute ... had empowered any two Justices "to take
sureties of keepers of alehouses in their good behaving"'. The problem
with dating is that there is no legislation given for 1495 in Statutes
at Large. Monckton, p.34, has 1495, although has it as '2 Hen. VII
c.2' !. Must have mistaken 11 for Roman numerals? 1494, for 11 Henry VII
is what's given in Statutes at Large, but reign year would be
wrong, since 1st year is 1485. Should be 1496]
According to French, p.127, 'the Act of 1496, passed
'against vagabonds and beggars.' This empowers two justices of the peace
'to rejecte and put away come ale-selling in townes and places where they
shall think convenyent, and to take suertie of the keepers of ale-houses
of their gode behavyng, by the discrecion of seid justices, and in the
same to be avysed and aggreed at the time of their sessions.'', which
makes Statutes appear a rather poor gloss.
In this century distinctions emerge between drinking-places
and places offering accommodation for travellers, when a law forbids ‘innkeepers
to have local people drinking in their houses, and alehouses were not
licensed to have guests sleeping on the premises'. Also: ‘The legislation
suppressing monastery activity in 1539 upset the widespread system of
monks keeping "open house", often a separated "guest house". The independent
inn was thus encouraged.' (The Pub and the People, p.81). [need to check]
1504 19 Henry VII c.12
(Bretherton)
1531 'By an Act of 1531,
every brewer was forbidden to take more than such prices and rates as
should be thought sufficient, at the discretion of Justices of Peace within
every shire, or by the mayor and sheriffs in a city.' (French, p.137.
Bickerdyke glosses the Act with the same words, without quotation marks.
He appears to have lifted from French, rather than the other way round).
'In the year 1531, brewers were forbidden to make
the barrels in which their ale was sold.' (Bickerdyke).
1532 23 Henry VIII, c.7,
'the wines of Gascony and Guienne were forbidden to be sold above eightpence
the gallon, and the retial price of 'Malmeseis, romenies, sakkes, and
other swete wynes,' was fixed at 12d. the gallon, 6d.
the pottle, 3d. the quart...' (French, p.137).
1536 28 Henry VIII c.14,
'For Prices of Wines': restricts price of wines; assessment by the 'King's
great Officers'.
Number of holidays reduced. (French, p.138).
1541 ? (Wrightson, p.9)
1552 5 + 6 Edward VI,
c.25. 'For Keepers of Alehouses and Tiplinghouses to be bound by Recognisance'.
'...Parliament requires all alehouses to have a licence from the justices
of the peace' (p.41) [JPs allowed to select from time to time 'at their
discretion' who could keep an alehouse', Webbs, p.7]. Act 'specifically
exempted retailing at fairs from its provisions'. Execution of it inconsistent
and evasion widespread (Clark, 169-170).
'It is clear that the 1552 Act was motivated by
the necessity to suppress drunkenness and social disorder' (Monckton,
Public, p.37). [But 1st legislation specifically against
drunkenness is in James I's reign]
'In the reign of Edward VI., by the Statute 5 and
6 Ed. VI. c. 5 (repealed 5 Eliz. c. 2), it was enacted that all land formerly
in tillage should again be cultivated, excepting "land set with saffron
or hops."', (Bickerdyke, p.73).
1st Act requiring licenses.
1553 7 Edward 6, c.5.
'The Act to avoid the excessive Prices of Wine'. Act restricts number
of taverns and who can sell wine; ale houses not allowed to sell wine.
[Prices - 1536]
1558 [?] Preamble to 1
Eliz. [I] c.2 notes that the quantity of wine imported is greatly increased.
(French, p.145).
1577 Government survey
for fiscal purposes, over 30 counties. 17,595 drinking houses: 86% classed
as alehouses, 12% as inns; 2% as taverns. Extrapolation gives 24,000 alehouses
for a population of 3.4 million; = one alehouse per 142 inhabitants (p.43)
1580 Tax introduced, but
'short lived'. [However, Monckton claims that it was only a plan, Public,
p.45].
1580s Tobacco introduced
into the country by Raleigh.
1590 22 Elizabeth I, ''that
no innkeeper, common brewer, or typler shall keep in their houses any
fewel, as straw or verne, which shall not be thought requisite, and being
warned of the constable to rid the same within one day, subpna,
xxs.'' The act was 'nominally against the danger of fire, but
in reality it was intended to prevent tipplers from having the means of
conducting furtive brewings'. (French, p.146).
1st legislation against drunkenness appears
in James I's reign. [Cf 5 + 6 Edward VI, c.25]
1603 - appears to have
little effect, and alehouses remained crowded, (Wrightson, p.6).
'regulations were made for the curing of hops,
which process had thenceforward to be carried out under the inspection
of the officers of excise.' (Bickerdyke, p.73)
1604 2(1) Jac. I, c.9.,
'An Act to restrain the inordinate Haunting and Tipling of Inns, Alehouses,
and other Victualling Houses'.
1606 4 Jac. I, c.5, 'An
Act for repressing the odious and loathsome Sin of Drunkenness'.
1609 7 Jac. I, c.10. For
reformation of Alehouse-keepers.
Renews previous legislation, suggesting that it
can't have been very successful (French, p.185, but also noted elsewhere.
Cf. 1623).
1604-10 'Legislation
in 1604 specifically permitted labourers and handicraftsmen to stop work
for an hour at dinner time "to take their diet in an alehouse. In 1606-7
there were acts against drunkenness and against brewers selling to unlicensed
tipplers, with further regulation in 1610.' Mainly tinkering with the
1552 Act. (Clark, p.172)
1618 James I. Sunday hours
1st legislated - 'closure of alehouses during the hours of
divine services' (Barr, p.148).
Royal proclamation - 'clearly prescribed a form
of licence for one year and this procedure appears to have been adopted
everywhere.' Monckton, Public, p.37.
1619 14 January, Royal
Proclamation: 'alehouse keepers were to be bound in recognizances of 10
and had to find two sureties willing to be bound in 5 apiece' (Ashton,
p.11), and strict guidelines on conditions of running their businesses.
1620 Feb 1620, Court of
Aldermen allow chandlers to sell ale and beer (Ashton, p.12); cf C19 measures
to encourage drinking at home.
1621 Parliament receives
grievance against Sir Giles Mompesson and Sir Francis Michel, who have
been granted patents for licensing inns and ale-houses, (French, p.185).
1623 21 Jac. I, c.7. Repression
of drunkenness, and restraint of haunting.
Previous statutes are renewed, suggesting that
the legislation continues to be ineffective (French, p.185).
1627 3 Charles I. '...a
fine of twenty shillings, or whipping, is imposed for keeping an ale-house
without a licence.' (French, p.206)
1630 Late 1630s, arrival
of the beer bottle as viable.
1638 The retailing of
wine in bottles prohibited. Bottling was necessary for light wines, which
will not keep in a cask, and the act thus probably led to adulteration,
(French, p.206).
1640s Mid 1640s, regulation
acquires national dimension, Clark, p.177.
1643 'In 1643 the Parliament
established the excise, and the Royalists from Oxford followed suit, both
parties stating that it should be continued no longer than to the end
of the war, and then be abolished. Yet it was continued throughout the
Commonwealth period and afterwards made hereditary to the Crown, up to
1757.' (Askwith, p.12)
'A Parliamentary Ordinance issued on 16 May 1643
imposed a duty rate of 2/- a barrel on all beer, including that brewed
domestically, having a value of over 6/- a barrel. In July and September
of the same year other articles were added to the Excise list.' (Monckton,
History, p.116).
Excise on sale of beer and ale: 'most important
single innovation affecting the drink trade during the revolutionary era'
- to pay for war against the King.
Based on the Dutch model (French, p.207).
But cf 1188?
1645 Charles I at Oxford
issues a warrant stating that he will levy the same duty on beer as that
levied by Parliament. (Monckton, p.116).
1650 Tax on a barrel of
strong beer 2s 6d. (Askwith, p.12).
1652 1st bag
of coffee brought to England [but first coffee-house opened in 1650, see
below] - 'it was a new drink for Pepys in 1661'
However - 'In 1650 was opened at Oxford the first
coffee-house by Jacobs, a Jew, at the Angel, in the parish of St. Peter
in the East; and there it was, by some who delighted in novelty, drunk.
Hence the antiquary Oldys is incorrect in stating that the use of coffee
in England was first known in 1657.' (French, p.215).
General use of coffee, according to John Evelyn
(Diary) is 1667, although notes, May 1637, ''one Nathaniel Conopios,
out of Greece, from Cyrill, the Patriarch of Constantinople, was the first
he ever saw drink coffee'.' (French, p.231).
1st coffee-house in London 1652 [Earle]
1654 Stated at the London
Sessions that no new licenses are to be granted for two years, (French,
p.219).
1657 Chocolate introduced
in about 1657, and tea in about 1660 (Monckton, Public, p.55,
but see 1659).
Excise officers have powers of entry, search, and
seizure of goods. (Monckton, History, p.117).
1659 'Rugge's Diurnal
mentions Coffee, Chocolate, "and a kind of drink called Tee [sic], sold
in almost every street in 1659."' [Roxburghe Ballads, V., p.173]
1660 Pepys entry, 28 Sept.
1660, 'I did send for a cup of tea (a China drink) of which I had never
drank before' - (Monckton, Public, 55).
Popularised by Charles II's wife, Catharine of
Braganza, (French, p.231).
1672 [Check date] 12 Car.
II., c.25. Wine Act. (French, p.233). Price of wines fixed. Also, incidentally,
gives a list of types of adulteration.
1673 Petition asking for
the prohibition of 'brandy, coffee, mum, tea, and chocolate'. The petition
notes that brandy has now become a very common drink. (Bickerdyke, p.118).
1682 [Check date] 22 and
23 Car. II. Wine Act. (French, p.233).
1689 1 W + M c.24. 'An
Act for an additional Duty of Excise upon Beer, Ale, and other Liquors.'
To last 3 years.
1 W+M c.34. 'An Act for prohibiting all Trade and
Commerce with France.' Mainly targeted at the importation of
wine and brandy.
'Partly through hostility to France, and partly
to encourage the home distilleries, the Government of the Revolution,
in 1689, prohibited the importation of spirits from all foreign countries,
and threw open the distillery trade, on payment of certain duties to all
its subjects. These measures laid the foundation of the great extention
of the English manufacture of spirits. Any person was permitted to set
up a distillery, on giving ten days' notice to the excise.' (French, p.245).
1690 2 William + Mary.
Session 2. c.3 (13) [i.e. if numbers run on consecutively from Session
1]. 'An Act for doubling the Duty of Excise upon Beer, Ale, and other
Liquors, during the Space of One Year.'
2 W + M ss2 c.9 (19). 'An Act for the encouraging
the Distilling of Brandy and Spirits from Corn, and for laying several
Duties on Low Wines, or Spirits of the First Extraction.' (On the back
of 1 W + M c.34)
2 William + Mary. Session 2. c.10 (20). 'An Act
for granting to their Majesties several additional Duties of Excise upon
Beer, Ale, and other Liquors, for Four Years...' In order to protect trade,
build up the navy and maintain the war against France.
Continuation of excise: 5 + 6 W + M c.7 + c.20;
4 Ann. c.6; 1 Geo 1 Stat. 2. c.12, sect.8.
Consumption of gin, 0.5m gallons [5m gallons in
1729 - Kinross]
1694 Popn E+W @ 6m
1697 8 + 9 William III.
c.19.xiii. 'An Act for repealing a clause in a former Act relating to
Party Guiles, and for the better preventing Frauds and Abuses in Brewers
and others chargeable with the Duties of Excise.' Clause repealed is 12
Car. 2. c.23, to do with keeping strong beer until the small beer has
been taken away, which was inconvenient for brewers.
'Any Person may distil for Sale Low Wines from
Drink brewed from malted Corn, & c. paying the Duties.'
'Malt Act'. [Name?] [Repealed 1880].
C18 - general. 1st restrictions on opening
times (Barr).
London, 4th largest city in the world
after Constantinople, Peking and Edo (future Tokyo) (Earle).
1702 1 Anne Stat.2 c.14.
'An Act for encouraging the Consumption of malted Corn, and for the better
preventing the running of French and Foreign Brandy.' No necessity
for distillers to take licences as common Alehouse Keepers as long as
they 'do not permit or suffer Tippling in his or their Houses.' Repeals
clause in 12+13 W3 c.11.18.
['An Act for the incouraging the consumption of
malted corn and for the better preventing the running of French and Foreign
Brandy' (Simon)]
1703 (?) The Methuen
Treaty - wines from Portugal admitted into England at 7 a tun, whereas
French wines admitted at 55 per tun.
1720 Mutiny Act. 'all
retailers who were also distillers or whose principal dealings' were more
'in other goods and merchandize than in brandy and strong waters' and
who did not 'suffer tippling in their houses' were exempted from the burdensome
obligation to have soldiers quartered upon them which was laid upon inn-keepers,
keepers of livery stables, victuallers and retailers of strong waters
within the Bills of Mortality.' (George, p.43)
1721 'the beginning of
the campaign against gin-drinking'. (George, p.44)
1729 'the Grand Jury of
Middlesex presented geneva-shops as a nuisance' (George, p.46).
[2 Geo.2 c.28. - entitled 'An Act to revive the
Laws therein mentioned', so perhaps this is only a reinforcement of 2
Geo. 2 c.17, or expansion of it - since no details are given in the former
act]
2 Geo.2 c.28.10. Licence required for retailers
of 'Brandy or other distilled liquors', in the same manner as common Alehouse
keepers, and liable to the same legislation.
Gin taxed and a license required by retailers (Kinross)
- cf 1702.
2 Geo.2 c.28.11. Licence to keep inns or alehouses
only to be granted 'at a General Meeting of the Justices of the Peace'
- to remedy the problem that licenses have been granted by JPs 'who living
remote from the Places of Abode of such Persons, may not be truly informed
as to the Occasion or Want of such Inns or common Alehouses, or the Characters
of the Persons applying for Licences to keep the same...'
Repealed by 26 Geo.2 c.31 sect.4.
First attempt at legislation on spirits trade -
'Retailers were required to purchase an annual excise license costing
20...'. Fails miserably. [can find no ref in Act to actual fee]
Duty of 2s. a gallon on compound spirits.
'any two justices had the power to grant a licence
and until 1729 were free to do so at any time of the year. After this
date the well-known Brewster Sessions were instituted when licences could
only be granted at a General Sessions of the Justices of the division,
one of which was to be held in September of each year.' Monckton, Public,
p.37.
1730s 'In the 1730s the
excise on the drink trade yielded a quarter of national revenue from taxation',
Clark, p.185.
1733 6 Geo.2 c.17. 'An
Act for repealing an Act for laying a Duty on compound Waters or Spirits,
and for licensing the Retailers thereof, and for determining certain Duties
on French Brandy, and for granting other Duties in Lieu thereof,
and for enforcing the Laws for preventing the running of Brandies.' Notes
that 2 Geo. 2 c.17 'An Act for laying a Duty on compound Waters or Spirits,
and for licensing the Retailers thereof' has failed.
The 1729 Act is repealed, but there are protests.
'Although it [the 1729 Act] was openly defied by
a concoction called 'parliament brandy' it reduced the sale, and the Act
was repealed in 1733 on a complaint from the farmers.' (George, p.46).
1736 9 Geo. 2, c.23. 'An
Act for laying a Duty upon the Retailers of Spirituous Liquors, and for
licensing the Retailers thereof.' To come in force 29 Sept 1736. [see
notes for fuller description and ref to people of 'lower and inferior
rank']
Consequence of protests from 1733, '...the enactment
of a new draconian measure' - trade goes underground.
'The Funeral of Madame Geneva'.
'The Act ordered that persons wishing to retail
spirits in quantities of less than two gallons at a time were required
to take out a licence costing £50. In addition to the heavy duties
payable by distillers, retailers were required to pay a duty of twenty
shillings for every single gallon they sold in quantities less than two
gallons.' Monckton, Public, 63.
1739 Height of the gin
craze. According to, Maitland 8659 brandy-shops in the metropolis (Earle,
p.56).
1743 Quantity of spirits
sold peaks at 8 million gallons. (George, p.48).
16 Geo. II c.8. 'An Act for repealing certain Duties
on Spirituous Liquors, and on Licenses for retailing the same, and for
laying other Duties on Spirituous Liquors, and on Licenses to retale [sic]
the said Liquors.' A licence granted for 1 payable to the Excise, to be
given 'to such Persons only who shall keep Taverns, Victualling-houses,
Inns, Coffee-houses, or Ale-houses...'
1729 Act repealed. £50
licence is dropped. Anyone may hold a licence for £1 [? - see above].
Retail duty abolished. The situation is 'checked', (Monckton, Public,
64).
'In 1743 Parliament abandoned its attempt to suppress
the popular trade in spirits. Instead it endeavoured to annexe the retailing
of gin and brandy to the respectable world of the victualling house.'
(p.242)
1744 17 Geo. II c.17 and
19. 'Licences only to be granted to keepers of public houses for that
one house only'. (Monckton, Public, 65).
17 Geo. II c. 17 and 19. 'Licence holders not to
be grocers, chandlers or distillers'.
(Monckton, Public, p.65). [Check date,
and ff. for Geo. II legislation from Monckton.]
1747 Compound distillers
are 'given leave to retail on taking out a 5 licence. Under cover of this
Act the old evils came back again and the consumption went up.' (George,
p.49).
1751 1743 Law confirmed,
'spirit-retailing was limited to licensed public houses, and the duty
on spirits raised'
24 Geo. II. c.40. 'Fee to justices' clerk fixed
at 2/6d., and premises to be of sufficient size'. (Monckton, Public,
65).
24 Geo. II and 26 Geo. II c.31 s.9. 'Justices protected
against writs and also given summary powers of search'. (Monckton, Public,
p.65).[Possibly in this Act] a clause 'forbidding spirits to be sold in
prisons' - although ignored (George, p.291; and Ch.1 n.41).
'The Act of 1751 really did reduce the excesses
of spirit-drinking. It was a turning-point in the social history of London
and was so considered when this time was still within living memory.'
(George, p.49).
1753 'In 1753 Parliament
passed a law requiring all clerks of the peace to keep registers of victuallers
licensed in their jurisdictions.'
26 Geo. II c.31. 'Licences only to be granted at
Brewster Sessions and at no other time of the year. Brewers or distillers
not to be Justices'. (Monckton, Public, p.65).
26 Geo. II c.31 s.1. 'Licensee to produce sureties
in his good behaving'. (Monckton, Public, p.65).
26 Geo. II c.31 s.7 and 8; 28 Geo. II c.19. 'Power
of justices to proceed against defaulting publicans simplified'. (Monckton,
Public, p.65).
26 Geo. II c.31 s.16. 'Licensee to be of a much
higher personal standing'. (Monckton, PH, 65.)
26 Geo. II c.31 and 29 Geo. II c.12. 'Transfer
of licences tightened up'. (Monckton, PH, 65).
1754 Hardwicke's Marriage
Act ends 'clandestine marriages', which often took place in taverns, eg
Fleet marriages. (Earle, p.178).
1756 29 Geo. II c.12.
'Government stamp raised to one guinea'. (Monckton, PH, 65),
(instead of tax on bricks!).
1757 30 Geo. 2 c.10. 'An
Act to prohibit for a limited Time the making of Low Wines and Spirits
from Wheat, Barley, Malt, or any other Sort of Grain, or from any Meal
or Flour' (for 2 months; continued same session 30 Geo. 2 c.15, till December).
1762 3 Geo. 3 c.12. 'An
Act for granting to his Majesty several additional Duties upon Wines imported
into this Kingdom, and certain Duties upon all Cyder and Perry...' to
come into force 31st March, 1763.
1763 4 Geo. 3 c.7. 'An
Act to explain and amend such Part of an Act made in the last Session
of Parliament ... as relates to Cyder and Perry made in this Kingdom.'
[Nothing else under this entry except that the Act is repealed, 6 Geo.3
c.14]
The Cider Bill debated, March. Riots in 'the cider
counties'.
1766 6 Geo.3 c.14. 'An
Act for repealing the Duties granted upon Cyder and Perry by an Act made
in the third Year of his present Majesty's Reign...'
1768 First modern hotel
built in Exeter, called the Hotel (Everitt, p.92. Alteration made and
name changed to Royal Clarence Hotel, 1827).
1780 20 Geo. III c.35.
'the power of the treasury to compound with private maltsters for the
duty on their malt' abolished. Stephen Dowell, A History of Taxes
(Vol. IV), quoted in (Monckton, Public, p.76).
1784 Pitt adds another
10s to the publican's licence, (Monckton, Public, p.67).
1801 Popn. England + Wales
8,893, 000. (1st census). No. of fully licensed premises: 49,000.
(Monckton, Public).
Home brewing accounts for half of total consumption.
By end of century virtually nil.
1807 47 Geo. III. c. 68,
an Act to prevent the abuses associated with pubs acting as houses of
call and the publicans as middle-men in coal-heaving.
'This Act, ineffectual as it proved, is interesting
as a piece of social legislation quite counter to laissez-faire
principles, and also as an early attempt to prevent by Statute the payment
of wages in public-houses.' (George, p.287)
1816 48,000 licensed alehouses
in E+W, 14,200 belong to breweries, 10,800 to occupiers, 22,700 to disinterested
persons. (Monckton, Public, p.88).
1818 '...14,000 inhabitants
of London and Westminster petitioned the Commons against the high price
and poor quality of liquor sold in the capital' (p.334)
1820 Free-licensers (?)
introduce cheap gin
1825 New Imperial Standard
Gallon, 277.274 cubic inches, introduced, replacing the previous of 282
cubic inches.
Distillery Act: 'no person can obtain a licence
for conducting a distillery, unless he occupies a tenement of the value
of 20l. a year, pays parish rates, and resides within a quarter
of a mile of a market town containing 500 inhabited houses. Before obtaining
a licence, the amount of which is 10l.,' he has to give details
of his premises etc to the collector 'or other office of excise'. (French,
p.344).
1828 Alehouse Act. Consolidation
of all previous statutes relating to the granting of licences. / 'not
more than eight, nor less than four special sessions should be held each
year'. No sureties required. Monckton, PH, p.78. (For fuller
details, French, p.344).
1830 1William IV. Beerhouse
Act. For the price of two guineas anyone can set up a Beerhouse, and this
will be free from any control, whilst gin/spirit vendors are still controlled.
‘Free Trade in Beer' begins and the Act lasts until 1869. The ostensible
reason was to counter the increase in spirit-drinking by encouraging beer-
drinking. A letter from the time notes: ‘The new Beer Act has begun its
operations. Everyone is drunk. Those who are not singing are sprawling.
The sovereign people is in a beastly state.' (Sidney Smith, quoted in
The Pub and the People, p.84).
Complete liberalisation (Clark's gloss); ‘introduces
principle of statutorily restricting hours' (?). Also known as ‘The Duke
of Wellington's Beerhouse Act'. (See French p.350 for fuller details).
‘First Temperance Societies in England, with a Pledge
of abstinence in the use of malted liquors.' (Carter, 249) Free-licensers
set up beer halls.
1831-1881 Number of public
houses rose by nearly 50% in England and Wales (Clark).
1832 Reform Bill (Sep
1).
1832 September 1. 'Entire
Abstinence' Pledge, Livesey, 'the seven men of Preston'
English Total Abstinence Movement (Livesey).
1834 Second Beerhouse
Act. [Knatchbull's bill passed]. Tightens up the qualifications required
of beersellers and creates a distinction between beerhouses with off-
and on-licences for the first time.
1st Parliamentary inquiry into drunkenness.
Parliamentary Select Committee on Intemperance reports. Chairman, James
Silk Buckingham, M.P. (See French, pp.353ff, for details of recommendations).
1839 Metropolitan Police
Act: a clause which allows for the prohibition of Sunday morning opening
(1st statutory regulation of public house hours). Effective
and incorporated into local Improvement Acts elsewhere. (Carter)
Metropolitan Police Act: forbids London drinksellers
from allowing children under 16 to drink on the premises, (whole country
extension, 1872)
1840 Beer House Act. Beerhouse
rating qualifications raised. Introduces principle of varying statutory
closing hours with population density.
Proof required that the applicant was the 'real
resident-holder or occupier of the dwelling house for which the application
was being sought', Monckton, Public, p.81.
1842-8 Sunday morning
closing extended throughout England.
1842 Licensing Act makes
'the complicated matter of the transfer of licenses from one holder to
another much easier'. Monckton, Public, p.81.
1843 'In 1843 an Act was
passed which at last rescued the poor coal-whippers from their 'thraldom
to the publican'.' (George, p.287. Not clear if this is specific to the
coal-whippers or a general act against payment of wages in alehouses).
1845 Gaming Act, 'disqualified
on-licensees from allowing billiards to be played in their houses during
permitted hours on Sundays, Christmas Day or Good Friday.' Monckton, Public,
p.82.
1847 10 Vict., c5. The
use of sugar in brewing is sanctioned. [Only previous times were 1800,
1812 and 1813 to cover agriculturally disastrous years.]
Band of Hope formed (Carter). [? See 1855]
1848 '...Lord's Day Sale
of Liquors Act applied Sunday morning closing to the whole of England
and Wales' (Carter).
1849-50 House of Lords
Committee on Intemperance reports.
1851 Maine Law on prohibition
passes.
1852 Parliamentary Committee.
1853 Forbes Mackenzie
[Sunday closing] Act, applies to the whole of Scotland. 1st
Sunday Closing legislation.
United Kingdom Alliance founded.
Villiers committee, full-scale enquiry
1854 House of Commons
Select Committee on Public-Houses reports. (See French, pp.361ff for details;
Askwith, Ch.4).
Act. Sunday closing: sale forbidden except between
1 and 2.30, and after 6.00, closing at 10.00, not to be re-opened until
4 am next day. 'Refreshment for bona fide travellers was permitted,
and for the first time that phrase, later so great a bone of contention,
found its way into the statute book.' (Askwith, p.53).
1855 Act. 1854 Act 'lightened'.
On Sunday to be closed between 3 and 5; closing time to be 11. (Askwith,
p.53).
UK Band of Hope formed (Carter). ?.
1860 Refreshment Houses
Act. Gladstone wine-licensing legislation ('grocer's licence'). Attempt
to 'popularize the drinking of light foreign wines and to bring together
the functions of eating and drinking.' (Monckton, Public, p.82).
1862 Church of England
Total Abstinence Society founded, 'which rested on a broader basis than
the Alliance, and more truly represented the British flair for compromise'
(Askwith, pp.68-9).
1863 Sunday Closing Bill.
Proposal for prohibition of 'all sale of intoxicating liquors between
11 p.m. on Saturday and 6 a.m. on Monday. Rejected. (Askwith, p.68).
Church of England Total Abstinence Society drops
the 'Total' from its title. 'A few years later it dropped the "Reformation"
from its title, and ever since has been content with the word "Temperance"
to denote the special ground on which it takes its stand' (Askwith, p.69).
1864 Weekday openings
curtailed (?).
Lawson first introduces Permissive Bill. 'This
Bill was the embodiment of the principles of the 'United Kingdom Alliance.''
(French, p.367).
1868 Sunday Closing Bill.
Proposal to prohibit 'all Sunday sales for drinking on the premises, but
to allow "dinner and supper beer" for home consumption to be purchased
during certain hours'. Rejected. (Askwith, p.68).
'A short Bill was submitted in 1868 to the Home
Secretary by an influential deputation, on which the Roman Catholics were
represented by Archbishop, afterwards Cardinal, Manning, supported by
other religious and moderate reforming bodies, which provided that after
a certain date no fresh licenses should be granted under the 1830 Act.
As these licenses had hitherto been purely personal, they would practically
have been extinguished in ten or fifteen years.' (Askwith, p.72).
1869 Wine and Beerhouse
Act: 'Free Trade in Beer' ended.
'The main provision [of the Act] ... was to transfer
the issue of beer-house licenses from the Excise, by whom they had been
issued since 1830, to the magistracy, who were thenceforward enabled to
exercise the same discretionary power in the case of applications for
new beer and wine licenses as they already exercised in the case of spirit
licenses...' / Effect is to reduce the number of licences, but, by increasing
the value of licences, encourage the 'tied-house' system because more
investment by brewers in the retail trade (Askwith, pp.72-3).
Doesn't affect alehouse licence.
And 1872 - strict controls
re-introduced, bringing 'all drink retailers under the authority of the
licensing magistrates' (Clark)
Convocation of Canterbury Report on Intemperance
presented.
1871 Bruce Bill, (Bruce
- later Lord Aberdare), incorporates the 'regulative' provisions of the
1871 Bill.
1872 Licensing Act. Details
attached.
1874 Licensing Act amending
the Act of 1872. Minor amendments; 'repealed that section which dealt
with penalties for the adulteration of drinks on licensed premises' -
'partly because no convictions had been made under that section of the
Act' and partly because now covered elsewhere under food and drink legislation.
Monckton, Public, p.85.
Forbidden for drinksellers to allow children under
16 to drink on the premises (?)
Public house - idea of variable regulation introduced.
1876 Committee on Intemperance
appointed by House of Lords. Report presented in 1879.
British Women's Temperance Association founded
(Clark).
1878 Act. Sunday closing
in Ireland.
1879 [Dr. Cameron's] [First]
Habitual Drunkards Act 'required that a number of retreats be set up for
the admission of voluntary patients who were addicted to alcoholic drinks.'
Patients had to pay for their own treatment. After agreeing to treatment,
patient 'statutorily obliged to remain for the full period of the cure.'
(Monckton).
1880 Local Option resolution
carried, for the first time, in the House of Commons.
Repeal of the Malt-Act.
1881 Sunday Closing (Wales)
Act. [Note - England now the odd one out, although a Bill gained a second
Commons reading, but rejected].
1888 C.T. Ritchie, President
of Local Government Board, proposes to transfer liquor licensing to County
Councils, and to empower them to pay compensation for redundant licences.
Proposal withdrawn. 1890 G.J. Goschen, Chancellor of the Exchequer, proposes
compensation for redundant licences. Proposal withdrawn.
'Direct Popular Veto' included in the Newcastle
Programme of the Liberal Party.
Lloyd George speech to Alliance meeting in Manchester.
1891 House of Lords Judgement,
Sharp vs. Wakefield.
1893 3 Bills before Parliament
for dealing with liquor traffic:
Bishop of Chester's Bill, 'empowering local authorities
to try a modified form of the Gothenburg System;
the Bishop of London's Bill, 'for the establishment
of Licensing Boards'; and
Sir William Harcourt, on behalf of the Government,
introduces the "Liquor Traffic (Local Control) Bill in the Commons (local
veto bill), which makes no progress. (Askwith, p.118).
1895 Local Veto Bill
re-introduced. The Bill makes no progress. Heavy defeat of Liberal Party
at General Election.
1896 First Royal Commission
on Licensing Laws appointed.
1898 Second Habitual Drunkards
Act. Magistrates given 'power to commit criminal inebriates to
special reformatories'. (Monckton, Public, p.85.)
1899 Report of the Royal
Commission on Licensing Laws presented (Peel Commission) in Majority and
Minority form, the latter known as the 'Peel Report', which was the more
detailed document.
End of century, convictions for drunkenness running
at 65 for each 10,000 of population, of which one fifth were females.
(Monckton, Public, p.86.)
TWENTIETH
CENTURY
1900 Figures for drunkenness
in E+W 60 per 10,000 each year.
Number of on-licences in E+W, 100,000.
1901 Intoxicating Liquor
(Sale to Children) Act. Also known as the Child Messenger Act. Sale of
beer to children under 14 is prohibited.
1901 Popn. E+W 32,528,000.
No. of fully licensed premises: 102,000 (Monckton, Public).
1902 King visits Burton
breweries
Licensing Act. 'An Act to amend the law relating
to the sale of Intoxicating Liquors and to Drunkenness, and to provide
for the Registration of Clubs'.
Embodies 'some of the lesser Recommendations of
the Commission' (Carter, p.268).
'The police were given power to arrest anyone found
drunk in the streets or any public place, including licensed premises,
whilst in charge of a child under seven years of age. The husband or wife
of a habitual drunkard was enabled to obtain a maintenance or separation
order, and under certain circumstances a drunken wife could be committed
to a retreat for inebriates. The sale of intoxicants to habitual drunkards
was prohibited.' (Monckton, Public, p.101).
1904 Licensing Act. Popular
name: The Balfour Act. Establishes 'the existing system of Compensation
for the suppression of redundant 'on' licences, and the payment of Monopoly
Value for new 'on' licences.'
1908 Asquith Licensing
Bill, 'which he described as having two main purposes, namely, "an immediate
and progressive reduction in the excessive facilities which are now allowed
for the sale of intoxicating drinks," and "the gradual, but complete,
recover, with due regards for existing interests, by the State of its
dominion over, and its property in, a monopoly which has been improvidently
allowed to slide out of its control". (Askwith, p.185).
Passes the Commons by majority, rejected by the
Lords.
Children's Act. '...an offence to give intoxicants
to children under the age of five except in an emergency or upon the orders
of the doctor.' Children under 14 not allowed in licensed bars during
opening hours.
1910 Consolidation of
Licensing Law. 'This Act repealed nearly all the Licensing legislation
affecting England and Wales from 1828 to 1906, witht eh exception of certain
sections relating to Excise Licenses. In the main it reproduced the existing
law in a simplified form...' (Askwith, p.188; Monckton, PH, p.102,
using Askwith's phrasing!).
1914 Initially
the naval and military authorities are given powers to restrict hours
of sale in or near harbours and in other areas.
August 31. Intoxicating Liquor (Temporary Restriction)
Act (similar powers to those granted to the naval and military authorities).
To last for the duration of the war and for one month afterwards.
'The war affected the production and consumption of alcoholic
liquors in every country by the withdrawal of materials for manufacture
in order to make good the deficiency of food, by interference with transport,
and by increase of prices. These changes caused a general, though unequal,
diminution of production and consumption.' / ‘... in Great Britain a system
of control was instituted which placed the trade in all its branches on
a wholly different legal footing, changed its practice in many important
respects, and introduced far-reaching experiments. In this procedure Great
Britain stood quite alone. Prohibition, adopted in Norway in 1916, was
rather the culmination of a long-standing campaign than a war measure;
and the same may be said of its adoption during the war in the Canadian
provinces and Newfoundland. The war no doubt stimulated a movement already
in progress, as it did in the United States, where national prohibition
came into force in 1911; but the action in Great Britain was quite new
and totally different.' (Shadwell, Drink, p.ix)
Restrictions promptly enforced. ‘The hours of sale were
shortened at both ends; in the morning by fixing the time for opening
at 8 A.M. or 9 A.M. instead of 6 A.M., and in the evening by closing an
hour or two hours earlier. In London the closing time was shortened on
September 4 from 12.30 A.M. to 11 P.M., and on October 19 to 10 P.M.'
(Shadwell, Drink, p.4).
War tax on beer imposed November 18 1914, to raise revenue
rather than curtail drinking. [Writing in 1943] ‘The last war transformed pub-life. There were drastic restrictions upon the hours during which could be open, drastic increases in the price of drink (between 1914 and 1921 duty on each barrel of beer rose from 7s. 9d. to 100s, a considerable decrease in the amount of beer drunk, and a 600 per cent fall in the number of convictions for drunkenness. They became accepted as pub normality. Numerous local and other restrictions (such as the "no treating" rule which was an attempt to alter the basic pattern of pub life) were temporary, and produced no post-war effects.' (The Pub and the People, p.12). [Duty on beer increased as follows: 1914, 7s 9d; 1915, 23s; 1916, 23s; 1917, 24s; 1918, 25s; 1919, 50s; 1920, 70s; 1921, 100s; 1922, 100s. Duty on spirits (proof per gallon) increased from 14s 9d in 1914 to 72s 6d in 1921. Source - Shadwell, Drink, pp.86-7]. Convictions for drunkenness in 1914 - 183, 828; in 1918 - 29,075 (Shadwell, Drink, p.89). [Note - war-time Acts are not actual licensing Acts] Defence of the Realm Act, commonly known as D.O.R.A. / ‘Before the end of 1914 some 623 orders had been made under the Act.' (Monckton, PH, p.103).
1915 May 19. Defence of the Realm (Amendment) No. 3. Act creates the Central Control Board (Liquor Traffic) under the Chairmanship of Lord D'Abernon. ‘This statute completely superseded the ordinary law within the defined limits and transferred the control of the trade from the local authorities to the Government, to be administered through a special organ called ‘the prescribed authority.' At the same time, it conferred on this authority far wider powers of action than those previously possessed by the local magistrates.' (Shadwell, Drink, p.26). ‘The greatest change introduced was a drastic reduction in the hours of sale. Previously these had been on week-days - in London 19½ hours, namely from 5 A. M. to 12.30 midnight (Saturdays 12 midnight); in other English towns 17 hours, namely from 6 A. M. to 11 P. M.; in country districts 16 hours, namely from 6 A.M. to 10 P.M.' - ‘The Board reduced these hours at one stroke to 5½ in all districts, namely 2½ hours at midday (12 to 2.30 P. M.) And 3 in the evening (6 P.M. to 9 P.M., or 6.30 P.M. to 9.30 P.M.). Except during these hours the sale of alcoholic liquor for consumption on the premises was prohibited, and this applied to clubs as well as to licensed houses of all kinds.' Three main changes effected by this. 1 - ‘Public-house drinking in the forenoon was completely stopped', 2 - ‘drinking in the evening ceased much earlier'; 3 - ‘an interval of several hours was interposed in the afternoon between the morning and the evening periods of sale, so that the consumption of liquor coincided broadly with meal-times, and ceased in the intervening period.' (Shadwell, Drink, pp.37-8) Lloyd George (as Chancellor of the Exchequer) had given a speech at Bangor, February 28, outlining how a minority were refusing to work a full week, because, ‘let us be perfectly candid. It is mostly the lure of drink. ... Drink is doing us more damage in the war than all the German submarines put together.' (Quoted in Shadwell, Drink, p.12; but Shadwell also notes Lloyd George's tendency to overstate the case, as described in the Times leader, April 3 1915, after George had argued that of the three enemies Germany, Austria and Drink, Drink was the most formidable). 1916 April, Beer Restriction Act, ‘limiting output to 26 million barrels for the ensuing twelve months' (Shadwell, Drink, p.95) 1917 March - ‘Beer output limited to 10 million barrels by Food Controller. Clearances of spirits from bond limited to one-half previous year's.' (Shadwell, Drink, p.95) 1918 November 11. Armistice (official end of the war is 1921) 1919 March - ‘Weekday evening hours of sale extended half an hour by Cotnrol Board - generally to 9.30. P. M.' - further extended to 10 in May. Sunday evening hours extended in July from 9 to 10. (Shadwell, Drink, p.96) 1921 August 17. Licensing Act. 'Under this Act the hours during which intoxicating liquor might be sold or supplied for consumption either "on" or "off" whether in licensed premises or clubs, were limited to nine in the metropolis and eight (or eight and a half) elsewhere on weekdays, and five on Sundays, Christmas Day and Good Friday, except in Wales and Monmouthshire, where there was no Sunday opening.' Between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. (or 10.30 p.m.; between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m. in London) 2 hours interval required. Note: there were 'no longer any statutory "closing hours" for licensed premises'. (Askwith, p.199). Due to agitation for removal of the Central Control Board, partly because it was indelibly associated with war-time restrictions, and partly because it was felt (constitutionally) that administration should return to Parliament rather than be the subject of administrative orders relating to areas, the Board was abolished. The Act (as seen by Shadwell) was a compromise between those who wanted a complete return to pre-War conditions, and those who wanted more stringent measures. Although the hours of sale were increased to eight on weekdays, the main war-time principles of a break in the afternoon and a morning opening time of 11.00 were retained (hence hours were kept in some alignement with mealtimes). (Shadwell, pp.135-7). 1923 Intoxicating Liquor (Sale to Persons under Eighteen) Act. Illegal for persons under 18 yrs old to buy or serve alcoholic drinks on licensed premises, 'but allowed the sale of beer and cider with a meal to a person over sixteen years.' (Monckton, Ale, p.184). 1934 Licensing (Permitted Hours) Act, 'gave authority to licensing justices to extend the closing hour from 10 p.m. until 10.30. p.m. for part of a year should special circumstances or requirements dictate that it was in the public interest so to do.' (Monckton, Ale, p.184) 1942 Finance Act. Allows 'the licences of war-damaged public houses to be placed in suspense'. (Monckton, Public, p.107) 1949 Licensing Act. Allows 'a variation and extension of permitted hours in London for those licensed premises which provided late meals, music and dancing.' (Monckton, Public, p.107) 1953 Licensing Act. Consolidation of legislation. 1950 Figures for drunkenness in E+W 11 per 10,000 people each year. Number of on-licenses in E+W, 73,000. Registered clubs 24,000 (from virtually nothing in 1900). 1956 Hotel Proprietors Act. Repeals 'the Innkeepers Liability Act of 1863' and gives an 'up-to-date definition of an hotel; henceforth only those establishments measuring up to the new specifications were legally qualified to be called inns.' Monckton, PH, p.107. 1960s Convictions for drunkenness about 15 persons per ten thousand, of which a twentieth are women. Monckton, PH, p.85. 1961 Licensing Act. Sunday opening. Ten-minute drinking up period introduced. Extension of London conditions applied in 1949 to rest of country. 1964 Licensing Act. Consolidation. The Betting, Gaming, and Lotteries Act covers the use of 'one-armed bandits' and amusement machines on licensed premises. 1967 Road Traffic Act. Introduction of the breathalyser. 1972 Erroll Committee - recommendation to extend closing time beyond 11pm (originally introduced at the start of WW1). 1976 (Scotland) Pubs allowed to open weekday afternoons and Sunday opening. 1987 Sunday opening. 1988 (England and Wales) Pubs allowed to open weekday afternoons. 1995 (England) Sunday afternoon drinking. [go to top of the document]
Askwith = Askwith, Lord, British Taverns. Their History and Laws, London, Routledge, 1928. Ashton = Ashton, Robert, 'Popular Entertainment and Social Control in Later Elizabethan and Early Stuart London', London Journal 9 (1983) 3-19. Barr = Barr, Andrew, Drink. An Informal Social History, Bantam, London, 1995. Bickerdyke = Bickerdyke, John, The Curiosities of Ale and Beer: An Entertaining History, London, Swan Sonnenschein, 1889. Bretherton = Bretherton, R. F., 'Country Inns and Alehouses', in Reginald Lennard, ed., Englishmen at Rest and Play: Some Phases of English Leisure 1558-1714, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1931. Carter = Carter, Henry, The English Temperance Movement: A Study in Objectives, London, Hogarth Press, 1933. Clark = Clark, Peter, The English Alehouse: A Social History 1200-1830, Longman, Harlow, 1983. Earle = Earle, Peter, The Making of the English Middle Class. Business, Society and Family Life in London, 1660-1730, London, Methuen, 1989. Everitt = Everitt, Alan, ed., Perspectives in English Urban History, London, Macmillan, 1973. French = French, R. V., Nineteen Centuries of Drink in England: A History, Second Edition - Enlarged and Revised, London, National Temperance Publication Depot. No date. [1st edition is 1884]. George = George, M. Dorothy, London Life in the Eighteenth Century, Harmondsworth, Penguin (Peregrine), 1966 [1925]. Kinross = Kinross, Lord, The Kindred Spirit: A History of Gin and of the House of Booth, London, Neman Neamen, 1959. Monckton, Public = Monckton, H. A., A History of the English Public House, London, Bodley Head, 1969. Monckton, Ale = Monckton, H. A., A History of English Ale and Beer, London, Bodley Head, 1966. Shadwell, Drink = Shadwell, Arthur, Drink in 1914-1922 A Lesson in Control, London, Longmans, Green and Co., 1923. Simon = Simon, Andre L., Bottlescrew Days. Wine Drinking in England During the Eighteenth Century, London, Duckworth, 1926. Webbs = Webb, Sidney and Beatrice
Webb, The History of Liquor Licensing in England. Principally from
1700 to 1830, London, Frank Cass, 1963 (repr) [1903].
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