By Martin Brisland.
Many in Victorian England were concerned about the negative effects of excessive alcohol consumption. There were local and national efforts as part of the Temperance Movement to encourage moderation with alcohol.
William Westlake was a prominent local Liberal politician and Quaker. He held Temperance teas for up to 100 people at Grosvenor House in Grosvenor Square, Southampton.
A member of the St. Mary’s Church of England Temperance Society, he became President of the Southampton Non Conformist Temperance Society in 1876.
Joseph Chamberlain, a Birmingham MP, had claimed that Southampton was the third most drink ridden town in England with a pub for every 110 inhabitants and 1 person in every 120 having been charged with drunkenness.
In 1878 the St Mary’s Church of England Temperance Society, whose president was the teetotaler Basil Wilberforce the Rector of St Mary’s, published a Drink Map of Southampton showing the 522 alcohol outlets in the town to illustrate the point. The map, however, proved immediately useful for ships’ crew and dock workers who wanted a ‘pub crawl’ and it was withdrawn in early 1879.
Beer was often preferred to the local water which proved to be the source of two outbreaks of cholera in the 19th century. To discourage beer drinking a number of public water fountains were provided. The Melly fountain from 1859 is today located in Houndwell Park.
The growth of modern Southampton began around 1840 with the arrival of the railway and the opening of the eastern docks, both of which brought many visitors to the town.
People coming for a voyage needed accommodation and refreshment and this was met by the inns and hotels. Some were Temperance Hotels such as Elcombe’s at 17-19 Oxford Street. Others would go to the music halls which were often rowdy places that allowed heavy drinking. One such in the 1850s was The Rainbow Tavern in French Street.
By 1900 the water supply was safe and the local licensing magistrates were very strict with the awarding of licences following the 1902 Licensing Act. Convictions for drunkenness fell to 1 in 250 by 1908.
The Licensing Authority worked to reduce the number of pubs by introducing a compensation scheme. They took a hard line with licence renewals for notorious public houses. In 1912 the Bulls Head, located in what is today the Medieval Merchants House run by English Heritage in French Street, was refused a licence and received over £1,500 in compensation.
There was an active Temperance Institute in Carlton Crescent until the 1960s.
Nationally, the People’s Refreshment House Association (PRHA) was founded in 1896 by Francis Jayne (1845-1921), Bishop of Chester. Its Articles of Association includes aims such as: the encouragement of temperance at Inns, Public Houses and Canteens; the provision of food and non-alcoholic refreshments and the maintenance of cleanliness and good order.
The PRHA recognised that around 80% of pubs in the United Kingdom were tied to brewers and spirit merchants. Therefore, it invited landowners with pubs on their estates, corporations and property trusts, to allow the PRHA to manage their houses. The Association also wanted to acquire ‘Free Houses’ not tied to a brewery when they came up for sale.
Funding came via £1 shares offered to the general public.
In 1901 the PRHA owned or managed 14 pubs. By 1907 this number had risen to 61. At its peak the PRHA controlled about 130 pubs.
All PRHA pubs offered tea or coffee at 1 penny a cup and a separate room and entrance, away from the bar, for families to enjoy food and non-alcoholic drinks.
Pub managers were paid commission on food and soft drinks but received nothing on sales of beer or spirits.
The Horns Inn at Nursling is thought to have been a PRHA pub around 1914.
In 1927 the Cowherds Inn was owned and run by the PRHA for a short time. However, progress of the PRHA slowed down in the inter-war period. The Association’s properties were acquired by Charrington’s Anchor Brewery in 1962 and the PRHA was wound up in 1966.
- Image William Westlake, picture from Southampton Libraries collection
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