The evils of drink

AN OUTLINE OF THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT

Sunday afternoon in a gin palace, drawn from life for an edition of
The Graphic magazine in 1879

The recognition that the excessive consumption of alcohol was directly or indirectly linked with social, moral and physical evils, became manifest in England during the 19th century when the temperance movement flourished.

Some organisations, mainly religious, placed the proportion of social evils from this cause as high as 75% although a closer examination of the records would reveal a more moderate figure. Recent analysis reveals that intemperance was responsible for only 14% of cases of destitution and that people drank because they were poor, not that they were poor because they drank. Statistics from the period also suggest that 10% of lunacy cases, a state that covered a multitude of mental malaise, were directly attributable to excessive drinking and that intemperance was widely regarded as a potent cause of secondary poverty.

The temperance movement originated in 1826 with the object of prohibiting the use of alcohol as an option not as a necessity, placing the liquor sales under official control with the profits being used for public purposes, the introduction of counter attractions, high licence fees and taxation. Prohibition, as introduced in the United States from 1920-33, was never favoured by the English temperance organisations except as a long term policy and the main direction of the campaign was to persuade the individual to abstain of their own free will, usually by the popular act of declaring total abstinence, popularly known as taking the pledge, often in public at temperance meetings.

Bourne soon followed the rest of the country by forming its own Temperance Society and although support was not particularly enthusiastic, membership was boosted in 1845 by a visit from the renowned Dr Ralph Grindrod, a charismatic speaker who had gained a reputation as the medical apostle of temperance. He gave a series of lectures at the Town Hall in April that year which were so outstanding that 400 people were recruited to the cause in one week.

Public witness was a favourite method of avowing the giving up of alcohol because the stigma of over indulgence was, in many cases, deeply felt. For instance, in the autumn of 1854, Thomas Fracey, a fruit and fish hawker trading at Bourne market, was brought before the local magistrates accused of drunkenness and abusive behaviour while running his stall on market day and was fined 5s. The sentence was not unusual but Fracey was mortified by his conduct and the following week, asked the Stamford Mercury newspaper to publish an apology on his behalf which they did on November 10th adding: "It is hoped that he will forthwith enrol himself a member of a teetotal society".

Temperance meetings at that time were usually linked to religious organisations although often held independently in public halls such as that held by the Bourne Temperance Society on Friday 31st January 1868. The Stamford Mercury reported:

A social gathering of the society members and friends sympathetic with this body was held in the Independent School in Eastgate. Nearly 300 persons were present at tea. At 7.30, a public meeting was held, presided over by the Rev D Horscraft, the president of the society, at which several readings, recitations and speeches were delivered, interspersed with music and singing. The school was very much crowded and great interest was manifested throughout the meeting, at the close of which, a vote of thanks was passed by acclamation to the Rev J Dodsworth for his kindness in granting the use of the room. We hear that several persons signed the pledge.

Similar meetings consolidated the activities of the society which was soon inviting guest speakers, often from abroad, to address them. On Saturday 15th January 1870, they were host to Josephus Cheaney, widely publicised as "the American boy orator" who was then touring the country with his message against the evils of drink. The meeting was held at the Victoria Hall in Eastgate [demolished in 1967] where he delivered two lectures on the themes of abstinence, "Popular Mistakes" and "Muzzle that Dog", both of which were listened to with undivided attention by a crowded audience. Tea was provided afterwards for the 100 people who attended and ten pledges were taken.

Not all temperance gatherings were of a peaceful nature, as one visiting speaker discovered in 1863. The Stamford Mercury reported on Friday 10th June:

On Monday evening, the vicinity of the [Ostler] fountain in the Market Place, Bourne, was for two hours the scene of a very riotous tumult, in consequence of Mr Grayson attempting to lecture on teetotalism from the steps of the fountain, and the non-abstainers being as determined to prevent him. During that time, a quantity of ale was brought out and partaken of with great apparent gusto. It is to be lamented that there was a considerable amount of intemperance exhibited by both parties; and it appears to be the opinion of the more quiet part of the audience that the exertions of each would be better confined to their respective spheres of action, and that however good the intentions of the total abstainers may be, they may be too obtrusively brought before the public. 

A second organisation opposed to alcohol was formed in 1874 and this was known as  the Bourne Total Abstinence Association. Its aims were the same and their message was conveyed during various functions, usually held at the Corn Exchange, including public teas and lectures such as that given on Friday 26th November 1875 by the Rev G W McCree who spoke of his 25 years as a city missionary in London. The association held its first annual meeting at the Corn Exchange on Friday 27th November 1875 with a public tea in the afternoon followed by an evening lecture by the Rev G W M'Cree who spoke about his 25 years as a city missionary in London.

There was also a strong accent on family involvement in the activities of the association and on Thursday 6th February 1876, the Edwards family of Bourne gave a musical entertainment at the Corn Exchange when, according to the Stamford Mercury, "there was a numerous attendance and the programme was well sustained throughout".

The message was also spread among the younger generation through the formation of the Band of Hope in Bourne on Tuesday 3rd June 1873, an organisation with a strong religious and temperance flavour. The Stamford Mercury reported the following Friday:

The children, numbering 123, headed by the Thurlby drum and fife band, wearing rosettes and carrying small banners with suitable mottos, went from the Independent Sunday School in Eastgate in procession to the railway station to meet visiting guests and on the arrival of the train, they proceeded to a field kindly lent for the occasion by Mr Shilcock. By the kindness and energetic efforts of those interested in this youthful band, they appeared thoroughly  to enjoy the outdoor sports provided for them until teatime. At 5 o'clock, there was a public tea and the Band of Hope at the same time were regaled with a plentiful supply of cake and tea. At a quarter past seven, the Rev G W McCree, of London, delivered a lecture in the Corn Exchange entitled "Modern  Reformation". The chair was occupied by the Rev H Harris, Vicar of Horbling. On Wednesday evening, the same gentleman delivered a lecture, also in the Corn Exchange, on "Christian work and Christian workers", the chair being occupied by the Rev J Little, of Bourne.

The Band of Hope also invited guest speakers to their fourth anniversary meetings on Sunday 20th May 1877 when the Rev M Lucas preached a temperance sermon during the morning service. In the afternoon and evening, Mr Jabez Inwards of London, one of the honorary deputies of the National Temperance League, delivered special addresses against the evils of strong drink. The league was also anxious to pass its message on to the younger generation and the following day, after an outing to the Wellhead field, Mr Inwards gave a temperance lecture to a party of children in the Corn Exchange. 

Open air meetings were also popular during the summer months, provided the weather was fine, but such a gathering that was to have been held on Saturday 18th August 1877 on the lawn at the home of Mr John Holmes in Eastgate was switched at the last minute to the Victoria Hall when it started to rain but this had little effect on attendance. Meetings were held in the afternoon and evening, both of them crowded, and highly charged addresses were given by several people in which they related their experiences connected with the use of intoxicating drinks and the current state of society in England today, as seen through temperance eyes. The Stamford Mercury reported: 

Some strong remarks were made about the indifference of the Christian churches on this question, which was so vitally affecting the happiness of the people of this country. Churches could see misery in China, but not in England; they could hear of babies thrown to appease the gods in India, but not of those who were suffocated by being overlaid by their drunken mothers; they could see Turkish and Russian atrocities, but not the cut throat husbands who murdered their wives in the public streets in England. A reform, however, was coming quickly and the speakers urged the audience to join them in bringing about a reformation that would thus improve the welfare of the people. So great was the enthusiasm of the audience that it was determined to hold the open-air camp meeting next Sunday and a large company is expected.

Similar organisations formed to fight the evils of drink also existed in some of the surrounding villages. The Thurlby Total Abstinence Society, for instance, was particularly active and even had its own band, as can be seen from this report of a meeting in the Stamford Mercury on Friday 28th June 1867:

On Thursday and Friday, 20th and 21st inst, the members of this society held their annual festival in a large marquee in front of the residence of Mr J Creasey when two excellent lectures were delivered by J Larner Esq of Framlingham, Suffolk, in which the lecturer forcibly pointed out the evils resulting from the use of intoxicating drinks, and the great and lasting blessings flowing from the adoption of total abstinence principles. On Friday, there was a public tea of which about 170 partook. The drum and fife band of the society also played several popular airs during the afternoon and evening, which greatly enlivened the scene. The society has been established about 3½ years and now numbers nearly 100 members.

There were also open air meetings during the summer months such as that held at Castle Bytham over the August Bank Holiday weekend in 1879, as reported by the Stamford Mercury on Friday 15th August:

Sunday and Monday last will be remembered at Castle Bytham as red letter days for in addition to the ordinary feast, and as a counteracting influence to the consequent drinking, the place was stormed my the Temperance men of the district who came in from Stamford, Edenham, Bourne and even Peterborough. A suitable place was selected for a monster camp meeting on the Sunday on one of the hills which served as a kind of amphitheatre at which about a thousand persons assembled in the evening, The meetings were also well attended in the morning and afternoon. Addresses were delivered by Mr Colam of Peterborough, Messrs Merrison and Berry of Bourne and Messrs Chapman, Jenkinson, Clarke, Johnson, Whyley, North, Bonner, Simpson and others from Stamford. On Monday, a gala day followed in the same grounds which was equally well attended. Various sports were heartily engaged in and a happy day was spent. The proceedings closed with a most successful meeting which was addressed by Messrs Chapman and Colam, interspersed with songs and recitations by members of the Juvenile Templars from Stamford. The Welcome Home drum and fife band was also in attendance and enlivened the proceedings. About 80 persons signed the pledge during these proceedings and we learn that arrangements are being made to at once form a Good Templars' lodge for this village.

The temperance camp was so well received by the inhabitants of Castle Bytham that a second was hurriedly arranged for the following weekend and the Stamford Mercury reported on Friday 5th September:

Although no public notice had been given of the event, there was a very large gathering. Mr C Chapman, of Stamford, presided over the meetings and a goodly number of speakers from Stamford gave earnest and hearty addresses on the temperance question. About 30 persons signed the  pledge and a lodge of the Independent Order of Good Templars is to be opened on Tuesday next, which it is hoped will prove a great advantage to the village and neighbourhood.

The total abstinence message also spread to Rippingale and a temperance fete was held in the grounds of the rectory on Tuesday 3rd August 1886. The Stamford Mercury reported afterwards:

About 490 sat down to tea which was provided in a spacious tent. Afterwards, there was a meeting on the lawn when able addresses were given by the Rev J S Warren, Rector of Willoughby, and the Rev W H Jones, secretary of the Church of England Temperance Society for the Boston district. The Swinstead brass band, by the permission of the Hon Elizabeth H D Willoughby, played at intervals during the afternoon and evening. Cricket, tennis and various other games, were also provided. The weather was fine and a most successful and enjoyable fete was carried out. At 9 pm, after hearty cheers had been given for the Rev W W Layng and his family, the party broke up. Three persons signed the total abstinence pledge.

In 1880, a Temperance Café and Working Men's Institute was opened at a former coffee tavern in North Street, Bourne, as an alternative to the public houses, with George Henry Elvidge as honorary secretary. A progress report on the venture which appeared in the Grantham Journal on February 28th said:

This movement is progressing very favourably and the matter has been supported with more spirit and energy than even the most sanguine expected. All the shares were quickly taken up and the Company may be considered as fairly launched. The provisional committee appointed at the first meeting have met several times and arranged all the premises, fitting the same up, and placing them in a comfortable and attractive manner. The premises are to be opened on Wednesday next, when several clergymen and others will be present.

The aims of the café were outlined in Rule 2 of the regulations which said that it was intended: "To provide working men and others with the means of social intercourse and moral improvement and refreshments with the temptation to indulge in intoxicating drinks."

The official opening on Wednesday 3rd March, described as "a red letter day" for Bourne, was given extensive coverage in the Grantham Journal which said that the premises consisted of a refreshment bar and kitchen on the ground floor, reading and ladies' rooms on the first floor while other rooms on the second floor had been furnished and made comfortable for small parties. "During the past fortnight", said the report, "the Provisional Committee have had the house and premises thoroughly fitted up with every convenience and at the opening they presented a very cheerful appearance. Outside the main entrance an archway made of evergreen was fixed up, in the centre of which the word Welcome was placed. Decorations were also to be seen in the entrance hall and not only there but in every room in the café and these decorations together with the appropriate mottoes upon the walls, caused the premises to look very lively and gay."

The opening ceremony was performed by Baroness Willoughby d'Eresby who arrived by carriage "with splendid equipment of horses and postillions". There were speeches and coffee before she was taken on a tour of the premises and afterwards her ladyship drove to the Corn Exchange where tables decorated with flowers and plants had been set out for a public tea at which 400 people sat down. A public meeting was held in the evening attended by 600 people with prayers and lectures on temperance from visiting speakers before the gathering broke up after three hours. It was also announced that the café would be open from 6 am until 11 pm each day with refreshments being served during those hours.

The café operated from temporary accommodation for a few months until permanent premises were built in South Street, the foundation stone of the new building being laid on 16th August 1881 by the daughter of the Baroness, the Honorable Miss H D Willougby, who was presented with a mallet and an inscribed silver trowel to mark the occasion.

Total cost of the project was £900, consisting of £250 for the property which was bought at auction, plus building work to put it in order in the sum of £530 and a further £120 for furnishings and fittings, the money being raised by £400 in 10s. shares, contributions and a loan. Mr W H Wherry, the treasurer, told the Stamford Mecury on Friday 19th August 1881: "The new cafe is a place in which working men should assemble and spend their evenings enjoying themselves. We hope it might by the means of making them sober, happy and intelligent men."

The work of the café lead to the establishment of a total abstinence association for Bourne which was discussed at a meeting held there on Friday 21st December 1883. The Stamford Mercury reported: "There has long been a need for such an institution in the town, the only temperance society being the Church of England, which, with its non-abstaining section, does not meet the requirements of the downright total abstainers." The meeting decided to call the new organisation the Bourne Temperance Society and rules for its management were drawn up and officers appointed, with Mr Henry Goodyear as president, Mr J B Roberts, treasurer and Mr Derry, honorary secretary. The committee consisted of the elected officers plus Mrs Mays, Miss Hobson, the Revs A Eason, G H Bennett and S Baron, and Mr Sones. It was also decided to make the subscription 1s. per annum.

A typical event was held on 16th January 1885 when it was reported: "The first meeting of the year for the Bourne Temperance Society was held at the café on Friday evening. A public tea was provided at 6 o'clock to which upwards of 50 persons sat down. At half-past seven o'clock, a social meeting was held in the assembly room at the café when Mr Harry Goodyer, the president of the society, occupied the chair. Speeches were given by several of the members and friends of the society and various melodies were very nicely rendered by the Gospel Temperance Choir. There was a very large attendance and the proceedings throughout were marked with great enthusiasm."

Larger meetings were held at other halls in the town and were often grand occasions. Early in 1884, the society staged a week long gospel temperance mission beginning on Monday 21st January when 150 people sat down to a public tea in the Corn Exchange at 5.30 pm. In the evening, there were a series of lectures and speeches, hymn singing by a choir specially organised for the event and solos by local supporters including Miss Sissie Mays and Miss Hobson. During the rest of the week, more meetings were held at other churches and halls in the town with a variety of visiting speakers, culminating with a final session at the Victoria Hall on Saturday night. "The meetings have been characterised by great enthusiasm, numerous pledges [to abstain from drink in the future] having been taken and we trust the mission will be the means of great good being done to the town", reported the Stamford Mercury on Friday 25th January.

But this enthusiasm was not to last. The café was run by a limited company which soon encountered financial difficulties and on Tuesday 10th March 1885, the fourth annual report was presented to the annual general meeting showing a deficit of £166. The directors, under the presidency of the vicar, the Rev Hugh Mansfield, promptly called an extraordinary meeting of members when a resolution was passed that the company should be wound up and go into voluntary liquidation. Mr William Robert Wherry was appointed liquidator and he completed his task of settling the company's affairs the following November when the final meeting of shareholders was held. The café was however revived in 1888 when the premises were completely renovated and continued on a voluntary basis as a public library and institute until the early years of the 20th century.

Christmas was a favourite time for visiting speakers to find converts from alcohol and in December 1887, Mr Thomas Rosbottom, the celebrated Lancashire lecturer, addressed two crowded meetings in the Victoria Hall, Bourne, in advocacy of temperance. "The lectures were a great success", reported the Stamford Mercury, "the audience being apparently entirely in sympathy with the lecturer, who interspersed anecdotes, humorous and pathetic, with his moving exhortations, in a manner quite irresistible. He claims that during his career as a lecturer he has induced thousands to sign the pledge."

The presentations on these occasions were always dramatic and intended to appeal directly to the emotions of the audience. On Friday 27th April 1888, a visiting speaker, the Rev J Woollerton, addressed a meeting at the Temperance Café on the subject of "Beer Street and Bread Street", under the chairmanship of Mr J Wolstencroft. The Stamford Mercury reported the following week:

The lecture was throughout interesting and was enlivened by appropriate narratives of actual occurrences, proving the evil effects of drink. Two pictures were placed in contrast - "Beer Street" and "Bread Street", painted by Mr Alfred Stubley [a local painter and decorator, of West Street, who was also well known for his stage decorations at local productions]. The former presented a miserable series of institutions, the public house, pawnshop, workhouse, asylum and gaol; the latter portrayed prevailing prosperity and happiness, the most noticeable buildings being the baker's and butcher's shops, the bank and the church. The lecturer dwelt on the fearful misery drink entailed on all sections of society. By the conclusive testimony of the medical profession, he proved that the bodily disease, depraved habits and weakened intellect induced by intemperance were entailed as a horrible heritage on children and children's children. He asked the working men to bear in mind the little calculation that 3d. a day spent on beer came to £4 l0s. in a year. The lecturer was frequently applauded.

Many of the movements formed to fight the evils of drink were run by women, notably among them the British Women's Temperance Association which organised missions to various towns and cities throughout the country. The association visited Bourne for a five-day mission at the Corn Exchange during October 1888 in conjunction with the Bourne Temperance Society when the Stamford Mercury reported: 

Mrs Enyon of London has given addresses afternoon and evening upon various aspects of the temperance question. On Sunday afternoon, the Corn Exchange was filled, principally with young people, to whom Mrs Enyon delivered an interesting address on "The Good Samaritan". On Sunday evening, a large audience again assembled and listened with great attention to an address from Mrs Enyon, based upon the narrative of the Philippian gaoler. On Monday afternoon, Mrs Enyon delivered an address to women only. At this public meeting in the evening, the chair was taken by Mr John Roberts who made a humorous and interesting speech. Mrs Enyon gave effective answers to popular objections against total abstinence. After a conference of workers on Tuesday afternoon, Mrs Enyon addressed a public meeting on "Where do the pennies go?" The Rev A Eason, who presided, delivered an earnest and thoughtful speech in advocacy of abstinence. The subjects on Wednesday and Thursday evenings were respectively "Our drink bill - who pays it?" and "Wrecks and the life-boat", Mr J Pinder of Stainfield and the Rev J Ratcliffe presiding. The last day of the mission, a public tea, was held. Mrs Enyon is an attractive speaker. Combined with a simple style, she has the sympathies of her audience.

The temperance movement continually claimed that its activities were having an effect on the drinking habits of the population and an apparent reduction in the amount of drunkenness in Bourne during the late 19th century is indicated by a report in 1890 to the Brewster Sessions, the annual meeting of the magistrates sitting as licensing justices to consider the conduct of public houses and to renew or refuse licences for incoming landlords. Superintendent Willerton Brown, who was in charge of the town's police force, detailed the convictions for drunkenness in the town during the previous 12 years, from 1878 to 1889, and the convictions for permitting drunkenness on licensed premises during the same period (bottom line):

The Stamford Mercury reported on Friday 5th September 1890: "These figures will give the temperance party in Bourne unqualified delight."

The temperance movement became such a strong force in English life that most towns soon had a hotel which did not serve liquor and they became known as temperance hotels. Such an establishment called the Willoughby Temperance Hotel opened in 1896 in the South Street premises previously occupied by the temperance café and apart from offering accommodation for visitors, also provided a venue for local organisations to hold social functions, such as meetings, dances, dinners, suppers and wedding receptions, without alcohol. The life of the hotel was short-lived and closed in 1901 when the proprietor, Harry Goodyer, began a new career as a public official, serving as Bourne's school attendance officer and a vaccination officer. Trade directories also mention a Wellesley Temperance Hotel existing in Bourne in 1890 where the Bourne Mutual Improvement Society held its meetings, usually consisting of tea and entertainment, with vocal and instrumental music, readings, recitations and charades. The location is unknown and this may have been little more than a bed and breakfast establishment with public rooms, whose owner was a follower of the temperance movement.

But public attitudes changed and by the mid-20th century, social conditions had improved and wages increased and the taboos associated with alcohol began to disappear and drinking became an accepted practice in all walks of life. Today, liquor in all of its forms, spirits, wine and beer, can be bought at a variety of outlets including public houses and off-licences, which until recently were the only available source, to supermarkets, grocery stores and even garages. 

Intoxicating liquor, once condemned as the demon drink in a succession of plays, films and books, is no longer a mark of ostracism and deprivation but an integral part of our social fabric. Even doctors approve of its use in moderation and it has therefore become an essential ingredient of the good life that so many people now enjoy while temperance has proved to be a word that has outlived its original usefulness and has now turned its meaning to a restraint or moderation of other excess appetites and desires that have surfaced in recent times.

REVISED FEBRUARY 2014

See also

The visit of Dr Ralph Grindrod

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