{"id":15507,"date":"2022-05-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-02T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=15507"},"modified":"2022-05-09T11:36:09","modified_gmt":"2022-05-09T09:36:09","slug":"habitual-drunkards-registers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/2022\/05\/03\/habitual-drunkards-registers\/","title":{"rendered":"Habitual Drunkards Registers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

RECORD MASTERCLASS<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

Habitual Drunkards Registers<\/h2>\n\n

Simon Fowler <\/strong>explains why an Act of Parliament means that you might be in luck if your unfortunate Victorian ancestor had a drinking problem<\/p>\n\n

\"\"
This magic-lantern slide c1900 shows men drinking beer in a pub <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Drunkenness was a serious social problem in Victorian England. Alcohol, mainly beer and gin, was readily available for a penny or two in pubs found on every street corner.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

By modern standards pubs were bleak, but they offered warmth and the chance to forget the drinker\u2019s woes for a few hours. It was very easy for people to spend their wages on drink at the expense of their families.<\/p>\n\n

The temperance movement tried to combat the evil with varying degrees of success.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Great efforts were made to wean working men o the demon drink, by providing healthy alternatives, such as temperance bars. Their ultimate goal was prohibition of the manufacture and sale of alcohol. In the end the temperance movement achieved few of their aims, although there were a number of schemes that did reduce drunkenness.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Class Differences<\/h5>\n\n

Alcoholics from middle-and upper-class households could be committed to private asylums or allowed to indulge their addiction away from prying eyes at home.<\/p>\n\n

The treatment meted out to working-class drunks, often referred to as \u201cinebriates\u201d, was very di erent. Some were reduced to sleeping on the street, or spent time in and out of prison or the workhouse. There was very little help available.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

One of them was Jane Cakebread, who became notorious for receiving nearly 300 sentences for drunk and disorderly behaviour in London between 1878 and 1893. With her quick wit she became a popular figure in court and a minor celebrity outside. She was eventually sent to a private home for alcoholics to dry out, although it did her no good.<\/p>\n\n

Cakebread died alone in a pauper asylum at Claybury near Ilford. Sadly only one person is known to have attended her funeral.<\/p>\n\n

Crucial Legislation<\/h5>\n\n

Several Acts of Parliament were passed from the 1870s in the hope of controlling drunkenness. One answer lay in keeping registers of habitual drunkards, which was introduced in the 1902<\/p>\n\n

Licensing Act. The <\/em>Spectator <\/em>described how this was \u201cthe latest attempt to deal with that unbridled indulgence in alcohol, that habitual tippling and drunkenness which are playing such havoc with our civilisation\u201d.<\/p>\n\n

The Act gave local authorities powers to implement regulations to \u201capprehend anyone found drunk and incapable in a public space or licensed premises and also in charge of a person aged seven and below\u201d. It prohibited the selling of alcohol to any person identified as a habitual drunkard, and implemented a penalty on anyone buying alcohol for such a person.<\/p>\n\n

Registers were circulated to public houses where landlords were not allowed to serve them for fear of losing their licences. In practice no responsible publican would serve such people anyway for fear of driving away their respectable clientele.<\/p>\n\n

<\/div>
\n

TOP TIP!
<\/strong>People who were included in drunkards registers will have been in trouble with the law before. Search local newspapers for their court appearances and sentences. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

The registers include details of age, occupation, physical features, peculiarities or marks (chiefly a record of scars and physical injuries), and the date and nature of the conviction.<\/p>\n\n

You will often find two photos of each drunkard as well: face on and profile. Even after 120 years the haunted look of many of the mugshots reveals the terrible physical and psychological state that these unfortunate men and women were in.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

These drunkards registers are very similar to the registers of habitual criminals kept by the police, for men and women who had been convicted of a crime and against whom a previous conviction could be proved.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\"\"
This drunk man was photographed in Richmond Row, Liverpool, in the early years of the 20th century<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
Online Availability<\/h5>\n\n

Relatively few councils and local police forces kept registers of habitual drunkards. And in most places they were only kept for a handful of years, so very few registers survive.<\/p>\n\n

Findmypast (findmypast.co.uk<\/strong><\/a>) <\/strong>has a list of 5,824 habitual drunkards in London between 1903 and 1914 in its collection \u2018England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & <\/span>Punishment, 1770\u20131935\u2019 (<\/span>bit.ly\/fmp-ewcpp<\/a>); the original records are held by The National Archives at Kew in series MEPO 6. Also Ancestry (ancestry.co.uk<\/a>) has the collection \u2018Birmingham,<\/p>\n\n

Warwickshire, England, Pub Blacklist, 1903\u20131906\u2019 containing 82 people convicted of drunkenness between 1903 and 1906: <\/span>ancestry.co.uk\/search\/collections\/1651<\/a>. <\/strong>The website has a selection of habitual drunkards registers from MEPO 6 too (ancestry.co.uk\/search\/collections\/61812<\/strong><\/a>).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Registers may occasionally be found at county record offices, largely for the first decade of the 20th century.<\/p>\n\n

They include incomplete sets at Dorset and Cumbria. No doubt others survive, perhaps combined with the registers of habitual criminals or other police records. The numbers of men and women who appear in these registers are small, but they represent an insight into the poorest and most desperate in society.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

SIMON FOWLER <\/strong>is a professional researcher, tutor and writer who enjoys the occasional drink<\/em><\/p>\n\n

\n\n

Case File, 1910<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

This habitual drunkard record for Charles Lennon is held by The National Archives. It has been digitised and is on Findmypast (findmypast.co.uk<\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
1 <\/span>FINES<\/h5>\n\n

Convicted drunkards will be fined the considerable sum of 20s for their first offence if they try to \u201cpurchase or obtain any intoxicating liquor\u201d, and the licensed premises will also have to pay \u201ca fine not exceeding ten pounds\u201d.<\/p>\n\n

2<\/span> NAME AND ALIAS<\/span><\/h5>\n\n

This record is for \u201cCharles Lennon, alias Leonard\u201d. Many drunkards used a number of different names, which can make them difficult to trace.<\/p>\n\n

3<\/span> PHOTOS<\/h5>\n\n

Unusually for photographs from the period, those in the drunkards registers show individuals wearing their everyday clothing.<\/p>\n\n

4<\/span> PHYSICAL DETAILS<\/span><\/h5>\n\n

These allowed publicans to easily identify individual drunkards if they entered their bar and tried to buy alcohol.<\/p>\n\n

5<\/span> PROFESSION<\/h5>\n\n

Charles Lennon gave his occupation as a clerk, indicating that he came from a respectable background. Many habitual drunkards abandoned their jobs in favour of begging, casual labour and prostitution.<\/p>\n\n

6 <\/span>CONVICTION<\/h5>\n\n

Charles was \u201cCommitted Many habitual drunkards abandoned their jobs in favour of begging, casual labour and prostitution.<\/p>\n\n

7<\/span> REMARKS<\/h5>\n\n

Registers in London helpfully indicate the area where the individual could normally be found. This record mentions that Charles \u201cfrequents Drury-lane, Longacre and Leicester-square\u201d.<\/p>\n\n

<\/div>
\n

RESOURCES<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Take your research further<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BAR<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MR FITZPATRICK\u2019S
Unit 7 & 8, The Courtyard, 270 Grane Road, Haslingden, Lancashire BB4 4QN <\/strong>
01706 230549 <\/span>
mrfitzpatricks.com<\/a> <\/strong>
You can sample cordials in a traditional atmosphere at the last temperance bar operating in Britain.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BOOK<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drinking in Victorian and Edwardian Britain <\/em>
Thora Hands <\/strong>
Palgrave Macmillan, 2018 <\/em>
This social history of drinking from a lecturer in social sciences at City of Glasgow College focuses on consumers\u2019 actions and attitudes. An electronic version is available for free at the publisher\u2019s website: tinyurl.com\/drink-hands<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WEBSITE<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DEMON DRINK
demondrink.co.uk<\/a> <\/strong>
This excellent online exhibition about working-class drunkenness was created by the University of Central Lancashire and the People\u2019s History Museum, Manchester.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

Photos: GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Simon Fowler explains why an Act of Parliament means that you might be in luck if your unfortunate Victorian ancestor had a drinking problem<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":15848,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"56","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"56","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_56-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_56-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"June-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"June-2022","purple_external_id":"June-2022-56-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"June-2022-56-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000105659||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000105659||","purple_android_product":"com.im.wdytya.191","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.wdytya.191","purple_ios_product":"com.im.wdytya.191","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.wdytya.191","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"ef59bcf9-d1d8-4088-a81b-df06cc4ab496","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2022-05-04T13:09:25Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"d8432703-1416-46a6-941d-c585064a0429","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2022-05-09T09:36:17Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQ==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A2EMnAxQWRqaUHcWFBkoEKQ","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[23],"tags":[72,69],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2022\/04\/4K1LQN668Q6591VY0X09RO1S42UA.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"6","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2022\/04\/4K1LQN668Q6591VY0X09RO1S42UA.jpg",1748,1882,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2022\/04\/4K1LQN668Q6591VY0X09RO1S42UA-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2022\/04\/4K1LQN668Q6591VY0X09RO1S42UA-279x300.jpg",279,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2022\/04\/4K1LQN668Q6591VY0X09RO1S42UA-768x827.jpg",768,827,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2022\/04\/4K1LQN668Q6591VY0X09RO1S42UA-951x1024.jpg",800,861,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2022\/04\/4K1LQN668Q6591VY0X09RO1S42UA-1427x1536.jpg",1427,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2022\/04\/4K1LQN668Q6591VY0X09RO1S42UA.jpg",1748,1882,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Simon Fowler explains why an Act of Parliament means that you might be in luck if your unfortunate Victorian ancestor had a drinking problem","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15507"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15507"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16045,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15507\/revisions\/16045"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}