TABLE OF CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION
The object of this work is to ascertain the part which Drink has played in the individual and national life of the English people. To this end, an inquiry is instituted into the beverages which have been in use, the customs in connection with their use, the drinking vessels in vogue, the various efforts made to control or prohibit the use, sale, manufacture, or importation of strong drink, whether proceeding from Church, or State, or both: the connection of the drink traffic with the revenue, together with incidental notices of banquets, feasts, the pledging of healths, and other relevant matter.
It must interest every thoughtful being to know how our national life and national customs have come to be what they are. They have not sprung up in a night like a mushroom. They have been forming for ages. Each day has contributed something. The great river of social life, ever flowing onward to the ocean of eternity, has been constantly fed by the tributaries of necessity, appetite, fashion, fancy, vanity, caprice, and imitation. Man is a bundle of habits and customs.
With some, it is true, life is mere routine, a round of conventionalities; literally ‘one day telleth another;’ with others, each day is a reality, has its fresh plan, is a rational item in the account of life. To these nothing is without its meaning; there is a definiteness, a precision, about its hours of action, of thought, of diversion, of ministering to the bodily claims of sustenance by eating and drinking. Around the latter, social life has fearfully encircled itself. The world was, and still is,—
‘On hospitable thoughts intent.’
The latter days are but a repetition of the former. ‘As it was ... so shall it be also. They did eat, they drank.’
Social life is intimately connected with the social or festive board; in short, with eating and drinking, because these are a necessity of nature. Other customs and habits may be fleeting, but men must eat, men must drink. Food ministers not only to the principle of life, but to that of brain force also. Thought is stimulated, activity is excited, man becomes communicable. He then seeks society and enjoys it. Thus has social intercourse gathered round the social board. Eating and drinking are two indispensable factors in dealing with the history of a nation’s social life. Adopting the adage by way of accommodation, ‘In vino veritas,’ truth is out when wine is in, once know the entire history of a nation’s drinking, and you have important materials for gauging that nation’s social life.
For obvious reasons, a division has been adopted of the subject into periods, in some respects artificial so far as the present inquiry is concerned. The Romano-British period has been selected as the terminus a quo. It might have been speculatively interesting to penetrate further into the arcana of the past, to have inquired who were the earliest inhabitants of this country? Were they aborigines, natives of the soil, or were they colonists? Had they an independent tribal existence, or were they originally a part of that great Asiatic family who emigrated into and peopled Western Europe, and to whom the Romans gave the name of Gauls?
Had such an inquiry been relevant, the question would have been of immense importance; for drawing, as one must, considerably upon imagination in dealing with any period not strictly historic, one must either regard the primitive inhabitants as independent aborigines, and accommodate their supplies to their wants, or, regarding them as an offshoot from another nation, suppose them to have carried with them the customs of their parent tribe, and find the sought-for habits of the child in the ascertained habits of the parent.
But we are concerned with fact; and must therefore date from a period when facts, however meagre and involved, are forthcoming.
A chapter of Bibliography is appended for the benefit of any who might wish to prosecute a study, of which the present effort is a mere outline.
A CONTRIBUTION TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF DRINK.
| Author. | Title of Work. | Date. |
| Accum, F. | Adulterations of Food | 1820 |
| Ackroyd, W. | History and Science of Drunkenness | 1883 |
| Adair, R. G. | The Question of the Times | 1869 |
| Agg-Gardner, J. T. | Compulsory Temperance (Fortnightly) | 1884 |
| Alcock, Rev. T. | Observations on ... a late Act of Parliament | 1756 |
| Alford, S. S. | On Drink-Craving | 1875 |
| Ames, R. | Bacchanalian Sessions | 1693 |
| Anderson, A. | Trade and Commerce | 1762 |
| Anstie, Dr. F. E. | Stimulants and Narcotics | 1864 |
| ” | On the Uses of Wines | 1877 |
| Armstrong, Dr. J. | The Art of Preserving Health | 1744 |
| Arnold, R. A. | English Drunkenness | 1877 |
| Ashton, J. | Old Times | 1885 |
| Assheton, Dr. W. | A Discourse against Drunkenness | 1692 |
| Arthur, T. S. | Ten Nights in a Bar-Room | 1871 |
| Aspin, J. | A Picture of the Manners, &c. | 1825 |
| Atkinson, F. P. | A Cause of Alcoholism | 1879 |
| Austin, Major | Cup Draining. (Bristol Magazine) | 1857 |
| Bacon, G. W. | Alcohol at the Bar | 1878 |
| Baker, W. R. | The Curse of Britain | 1840 |
| ” | Intemperance the Idolatry of Great Britain | 1851 |
| Barnaby, A. | Proposals for laying a Duty on Malt | 1696 |
| Barber, M. A. S. | Bartholomew Faire | 1641 |
| Barclay, Dr. J. | Ale, Wine, Spirits | 1861 |
| Barrow, J. H. | Temperance and Teetotalism | 1845 |
| Barry, Sir E. | Observations on the Wines of the Ancients | 1775 |
| Basil, S. | Homilia Contra Ebrios | — |
| Bayly, Mrs. | Ragged Homes | 1860 |
| Baynes, C. R. | Two Discourses on Sickness of Wine | 1669 |
| Beale, J. | A Treatise of Cyder | 1665 |
| Beardsall, F. | Nature and Properties of Wines | 1839 |
| Beaumont, Dr. T. | A Lecture on Ardent Spirits | 1830 |
| Beddoes, Dr. T. | A Guide for Self-Preservation | 1793 |
| Beecher, Dr. Lyman | Sermons on Intemperance | 1826 |
| Beggs, T. | Dear Bread and Wasted Grain | 1856 |
| Bell, Dr. J. | Action of Spirituous Liquors | 1791 |
| Bennet, Dr. D. W. | Alcohol: Use and Abuse | 1883 |
| Bernard, S. | De Ordine Vitæ | — |
| Bickerdyke, J. | Curiosities of Ale and Beer | — |
| Bradley, R. | The Riches of the Hop Garden | 1729 |
| Brewster, J. | The Evils of Drunkenness | 1832 |
| Bridgett, T. E. | The Discipline of Drink | 1876 |
| Brown, Dr. A. | Advice respecting Water Drinking | 1707 |
| Browne, Sir T. | Pseudodoxia Epidemica | 1646 |
| Browne, Dr. Peter | Discourse of Drinking Healths | 1716 |
| ” | Of Drinking in Remembrance of the Dead | 1715 |
| Bruce, E. | Digest of Evidence before the Committee of Parliament | 1835 |
| Brunton, Dr. L. | The Influence of Stimulants | 1883 |
| Burgh, J. | A Warning to Dram Drinkers | 1751 |
| Burn, J. H. | Descriptive Catalogue of London Traders | 1855 |
| Burne, Peter | The Teetotallers Companion | 1847 |
| Burns, Dr. D. | Drink, Drunkenness and the Drink Traffic | 1862 |
| ” | The Bible and Total Abstinence | 1869 |
| ” | The Bases of Temperance Reform | 1872 |
| ” | Christendom and the Drink Curse | 1875 |
| Buckingham, J. S. | Evidence on Drunkenness | 1834 |
| ” | Earnest Plea for the Reign of Temperance | 1851 |
| ” | History and Progress of the Temperance Reformation | 1854 |
| Bucknill, J. C. | Habitual Drunkenness | 1878 |
| Bury, E. | The Deadly Danger of Drunkenness | 1671 |
| Butler, W. R. | The Idolatry of Britain | — |
| ” | The Curse of Britain | 1838 |
| Buxton, C. | How to stop Drunkenness (North British Review) | 1855 |
| Caine, W. | Thoughts on Wines and Temperance | 1882 |
| Capil | On the Laws of Drunkenness | — |
| Carlysle, Dr. A. | Pernicious Effects of Liquors | 1810 |
| ” | Moral Influence of Fermented Liquors | 1837 |
| Carpenter, Dr. W. B. | Use and Abuse of Alcoholic Liquors | 1851 |
| ” | The Moderate Use, &c. | 1853 |
| Carpenter, Dr. W. B. | Physiology of Temperance | 1853 |
| Carpenter, Dr. A. | Alcoholic Drinks not Necessaries | 1882 |
| Chadwick, Sir E. | Various Reports, Speeches, &c., dating from | 1842 |
| Chadwick, Dr. J. | An Essay on Alcoholic Liquors | 1849 |
| Charleton, Dr. | Mystery of Vintners | 1692 |
| Child, S. | Every Man his own Brewer | 1797 |
| Christison, Sir R. | A Treatise on Poisons | 1829 |
| ” | The Habit of Intemperance | 1861 |
| Clark, Sir Andrew | Alcohol in Small Doses | 1881 |
| ” | An Enemy of the Race | 1882 |
| Clarke, S. | The British Gauger | 1762 |
| Close, Dean | Why I have taken the Pledge | 1860 |
| Collier, J. P. | Collection of Ordinances | 1790 |
| Collinson, J. | Crack Club | 1858 |
| ” | The Gaol Cradle | 1875 |
| Confalonarius, J. B. | De Vini Naturâ | 1535 |
| Conybeare, W. J. | Social Essays | 1855 |
| Cornwalleys, H. | The Law of Drinking | 1705 |
| Cornaro, L. | De Vitæ Sobriæ Commodis | 1678 |
| Coryn, H. A. W. | Moral and Physical Advantages of Total Abstinence | 1888 |
| Couling, S. | The Traffic in Intoxicating Drinks | 1855 |
| ” | History of the Temperance Movement | 1862 |
| ” | Teetotalism v. Alcohol | 1863 |
| Crane, J. T. | The Arts of Intoxication | 1877 |
| Crespi, Dr. A. | Various Essays and Lectures, dating from | 1870 |
| Cruikshank, G. | The Bottle | 1847 |
| ” | A Sequel to The Bottle | 1848 |
| ” | The Glass | 1853 |
| Daniel, Geo. | Merrie England in ye Olden Time | 1842 |
| ” | Democritus in London | 1852 |
| Darby, C. | Bacchanalia | 1680 |
| Deacon | The Innkeeper’s Album | 1823 |
| Dearden, J. | Short Account of Drunkenness | 1840 |
| Decker, Th. | The Gull’s Horne-booke | 1609 |
| ” | English Villaines Prest to Death | 1632 |
| Defoe, Dan. | The Poor Man’s Plea | 1698 |
| De Laune | Present State of London | 1681 |
| Denham, Sir J. | Calf’s Head Club | 1713 |
| Dewhurst, W. H. | Physiology of Drunkenness | 1838 |
| Dickson, Dr. | Fallacies of the Faculty | 1839 |
| Digby, Sir K. | Closet Opened | 1677 |
| Disney, John. | View of Ancient Laws against Immorality | 1710 |
| Doran, Dr. | Table Traits | 1854 |
| Dossie, R. | On Spirituous Liquors | 1770 |
| Downham, John | Disswasion from Drunkenness | 1613 |
| Druik, Dr. L. | Cheap Wines | 1865 |
| Duncan, Dr. | Wholesome Advice | 1706 |
| Dunckley, H. | The Shame and the Glory of Britain | 1849 |
| Dunlop, J. | National Intemperance | 1828 |
| ” | The Wine System of Great Britain | 1831 |
| ” | Philosophy of Drinking Usages | 1839 |
| Earle, John | Microcosmographie | 1628 |
| Edgar, John | Drinks of the Hebrews | 1837 |
| Edmunds, Dr. J. | Non-Alcoholic Treatment | 1876 |
| ” | Alcoholic Drinks as Diet | 1879 |
| Edwards, Edwin | Collection of Old English Inns | 1873 |
| Edwards, Henry | Charities and Old English Customs | 1842 |
| Ellis, Mrs | A Voice from the Vintage | 1843 |
| ” | Pictures of Private Life | 1844 |
| Ellison, Canon | The Church Temperance Movement | 1878 |
| Esquiroz, Alphonze | The English at Home | — |
| Evelyn, John | Tyrannus; Sumptuary Laws | 1661 |
| Fairholt, F. W. | Lord Mayor’s Pageants | 1843 |
| Farrar, Archdeacon | Numerous Lectures, Articles, &c. | — |
| Fleetwood, Bishop | Chronicon Preciosum | 1707 |
| Flower, R. | Observations on Beer | 1802 |
| Forbes, Sir J. | Temperance: An Enquiry | 1847 |
| Forster, Dr. T. | Physiological Reflections | 1812 |
| Fosbroke, T. D. | British Monachism | 1817 |
| Fredericus, J. | De Ritu Bibendi | — |
| Freeman, G. | Exhortation from Drunkenness | 1663 |
| French, R. V. | History of Toasting | 1881 |
| ” | Personal Advantages of Abstinence | 1878 |
| Frinus, D. | Spirits and Wine Offending Man’s Body | 1668 |
| Friscolinus | In Ebrietat | — |
| Gairdner, Dr. W. E. | On Alcoholic Stimulants | 1861 |
| Gale, Rev. H. | Apostolic Temperance | 1856 |
| Garbult, R. | A Sober Testimony | 1675 |
| Gascoigne, G. | The Pryncelye Pleasure at Kenilworth | 1576 |
| ” | The Steele Glas, a Satyre | 1576 |
| Gay, John | Poem on Wine | 1727 |
| Gayton, Edmund | Art of Longevity | 1659 |
| Geree, John | Potion for the Cure of Unnatural Health-Drinking | 1648 |
| Gesner, C. | Contra Luxum Conviviorum | — |
| Gibson, E. | Earnest Dissuasive | 1750 |
| Gilmore, A. | Our Drinks | 1856 |
| Gladstone, Rev. G. | Good Templarism | 1873 |
| Godschall, W. M. | Monitions concerning Ale-house Keepers | 1787 |
| Goodwin, M. | An Address to the Nobility on Distillation | 1819 |
| Googe, B. | Noageorgus | 1570 |
| Gough, J. B. | Autobiography of | 1879 |
| ” | Orations | 1886 |
| Gratarolus, W. | De Vini Naturâ | 1565 |
| Greenfield, W. S. | Alcohol, its Use and Abuse | 1878 |
| Greenwood, J. | The Seven Curses of London | — |
| Greenwood, E. | Lectures on Intemperance | 1837 |
| Grier, R. M. | Numerous Pamphlets, Articles, &c. | 1870-89 |
| Grindrod, R. B. | Bacchus | 1839 |
| Grose, F. | Worn out Characters of the Last Age | — |
| Gunning, H. | Reminiscences of Cambridge from 1780 | — |
| Gustafson, Axel | The Foundation of Death | 1884 |
| Gutch, J. | Collectanea Curiosa | 1781 |
| Guthrie, Dr. T. | A Plea for Drunkards | — |
| Guy, Dr. | Intemperance (Weekly Record) | 1857 |
| Hales, S. | The Unwholesomeness of Liquors | 1750 |
| Hall, Thomas | Funebria Floræ | 1660 |
| Hall, J. | Drink Thirst: Its Treatment | 1880 |
| Harris, R. | The Drunkard’s Cup | 1635 |
| Harris, Dr. Sylvanus | Inebriety | 1872 |
| Harwood, Dr. E. | Of Temperance and Intemperance | 1774 |
| Haynes, M. | Against Drunkenness | 1701 |
| Heath, Benjamin | The Case of the County of Devon | — |
| Henderson, Dr. A. | History of Ancient and Modern Wines | 1824 |
| Henry, Rev. W. | Earnest Addresses against Drinking, &c. | 1761 |
| Heslop, T. P. | The Abuse of Alcohol | 1872 |
| ” | Our Drinking Customs | 1878 |
| Heywood, Thomas | London Harbour of Health | 1635 |
| ” | The Marriage Triumph | 1613 |
| ” | Philocothonista; or, The Drunkard Opened | 1635 |
| ” | London Speculum | 1637 |
| Higginbottom, J. | On the Treatment of Disease without Stimulants (Brit. Med. Journ., Vol. II.) | 1862 |
| Hill, J. | Friendly Warnings v. Drunkenness | 1831 |
| Hingeston, H. | Dreadful Alarm | 1703 |
| Hobson | Household Expenses of Sir John Howard | 1466 |
| Hodgkin, Dr. | Promoting Health | 1835 |
| Hone, W. | Everyday Book. Year Book | 1825 |
| Hopkins, W. B. | H. Sc. Temperance | 1871 |
| Hornby, W. | The Scourge of Drunkenness | 1614 |
| Horsely, J. | Toxicologist’s Guide | 1866 |
| Horsely, J. W. | Numerous Articles, Lectures, &c. | 1875-89 |
| Hospinianus | De Festis Christianorum | 1593 |
| Hoyle, W. | Intemperance and Crime | 1864 |
| ” | Total Abstinence | 1874 |
| ” | Our National Drink Bill | 1884, &c. |
| Howard, C. | The Touchstone of Adulteration | — |
| Hudson, Thomas | Numerous Articles, Lectures, &c. | 1849-89 |
| Hughes, W. | Complete Vineyard | 1665 |
| Husenbeth | Guide to the Wine-cellar | — |
| Huss | Alcoholismus Chronicus | 1851 |
| Ingestre, Viscount | Meliora; or, Better Times | 1852 |
| ” | Ancient Laws and Customs of the Burghs | — |
| Inwards, J. | Essays on Temperance | 1849 |
| Jeaffreson, J. C. | A Book about the Table | 1875 |
| Jeffreys, Archibald | The Religious Objections | 1840 |
| ” | Alcoholic Wines | 1845 |
| Jenkins, E. | The Devil’s Chain | 1876 |
| Jerrold, D. | Cakes and Ale | 1852 |
| Johnson, J. | Laws and Canons | 1720 |
| Jole, W. | Warning to Drunkards | 1680 |
| Jones, A. | The Dreadful Character of a Drunkard | 1660 |
| Junius, R. | The Drunkard’s Character | 1638 |
| Kempe, A. J. | Losely MSS. Illustrative of English Manners | 1835 |
| Kennet, Bishop | Parochial Antiquities | 1695 |
| Kerr, Dr. N. | The Action of Alcoholic Liquors | 1876 |
| ” | Intemperance and its Remedy | 1878 |
| ” | Diseases from Alcohol | 1882 |
| ” | The Truth about Alcohol | 1884 |
| ” | Numerous Articles and Lectures | — |
| Kester | De immoderatâ Adbibendi consuetudine | — |
| Kirton, J. W. | Intoxicating Drinks | 1879 |
| Knight, T. | Pomona Herefordiensis | 1809 |
| Lacey, W. J. | The Case for Total Abstinence | 1889 |
| Lamb, C. | Essays of Elia | 1833 |
| Lambarde, W. | Lamentable Complaints | 1641 |
| Lankester, Dr. E. | On Food | 1861 |
| Larwood, J. | History of Signboards | 1866 |
| Lees, Dr. F. R. | History of the Wine Question | 1840 |
| ” | Essays on the Temperance Question | 1853 |
| ” | Agreement for Legislative Prohibition | 1856 |
| ” | Science Temperance Text Book, &c., &c. | 1884 |
| Lawson, Sir W. | Numerous Articles, Lectures, Parliamentary Speeches, &c. | — |
| Lemerry, L. | Treatise of Foods and Drinkables (Translated by Dr. D. Hay) | 1745 |
| Levi, Leone | On the Wine Trade and Duties | 1866 |
| ” | Consumption of Spirits | 1872 |
| Levison, J. L. | Hereditary Tendency of Drunkenness | 1839 |
| Lewis, David | Britain’s Social State | 1872 |
| ” | The Drink Problem, and its Solution | 1883 |
| Lightbody, J. | The Gauger’s Companion | 1694 |
| Livesey, J. | Lecture on Malt Liquor | 1832 |
| ” | Reminiscences | 1867 |
| Lucas, Dr. T. P. | The Laws of Life and Alcohol | 1877 |
| Lupton, D. | The Country Carbonadoed | 1632 |
| Lash, W. J. H. | Chronic Alcoholism | 1873 |
| Macdonald, G. B. | Apology for the Disuse of Alcohol | 1841 |
| Macnish, R. | Anatomy of Drunkenness | 1834 |
| Macpherson, D. | Annals of Commerce | 1805 |
| Macrae, D. | Dunvarlich | — |
| Madox, T. | History of the Exchequer | 1769 |
| Madden, F. | Privy Purse Expenses of Queen Mary | 1831 |
| Madden, R. H. | Stimulating Drinks | 1847 |
| Maffei, Scipio | De Compotationibus Academicis | — |
| Maguire, J. F. | Father Mathew | 1863 |
| Malcolm, J. P. | Manners and Customs of London | 1811 |
| Maltman, J. | Teetotalism | 1889 |
| Marchant, W. T. | The Praise of Ale | 1888 |
| Marcet, W. | On Chronic Alcoholic Intoxication | 1862 |
| Markham, J. | English Housewife | 1683 |
| Martyndale, H. F. | Analysis of the Calendar | — |
| Mayor, Prof. J. E. B. | Modicus Cibi | 1880 |
| Miller, Rev. J. | The Coffeehouse | 1737 |
| Miller, Dr. J. | Alcohol, its Place and Power | 1861 |
| Mills, J. | The Merrie Days of England | 1859 |
| Misson, M. | Memoirs and Observations | 1719 |
| Morewood, S. | History of Inebriating Liquors | 1838 |
| Moxon, H. E. | The Laws Affecting Publicans | — |
| Mudie, R. | Babylon the Great | 1824 |
| Mudge, Dr. H. | Nature and Obligations of Temperance | 1862 |
| Muirhead, J. P. | Drinking Songs | 1875 |
| Mulder, Prof. C. J. | Chemistry of Wine | 1857 |
| Munroe, Dr. H. | Alcohol not Food | 1867 |
| Myrc, John | Liber Festivalis | — |
| Nash, Th. | Pierce Pennilesse | 1595 |
| Nichols, John | The Progresses of Queen Elizabeth, James I., &c. | 1788 |
| ” | Illustrations of Manners and Expenses | — |
| Nichols, J. G. | London Pageants | 1837 |
| Norris, Edw. | Establishment of the Household of H. Algernon Percy | 1770 |
| Nott, Dr. | Lectures | 1863 |
| Obsopœus, Vinc. | De Arte Bibendi | 1578 |
| Oinophilos, Bon. | (Pseud) Praise of Drunkenness | 1812 |
| Osborne, S. J. | Hints for the Amelioration, &c. | 1841 |
| Page, Th. | An Earnest Appeal on the Effects of Beer-houses | 1846 |
| Paris, Dr. J. A. | On Diet | 1837 |
| Paris, M. | Paradise of Dainty Devices | 1576 |
| Parkes, Dr. E. A. | Public Health | 1876 |
| Parsons, Benj. | Anti-Bacchus | 1840 |
| Partridge, S. | An Admonition to the Keepers of Inns | — |
| Pasquil | Palinodia and his Progress to the Tavern | 1634 |
| Peacham, T. | The Art of Living in London | 1642 |
| Pegge, S. | The Form of Cury | 1780 |
| ” | Introduction and Condition of the Vine in England (Arch. i. 319) | — |
| Pengelly, W. | Signs of Hotels, &c. | — |
| Phelps, C. | A Caveat against Drunkenness | 1676 |
| Phillips, J. | Cyder | 1708 |
| Pigot, J. M. B. | De Morbis Ebriosorum | 1807 |
| Poole, T. | Treatise on Strong Beer | 1785 |
| Powell, J. | The Assyse of Ale | — |
| Powell, F. | Bacchus Dethroned | 1870 |
| Porphyry | De Abstinentia | — |
| Pulman, J. P. R. | Book of the Axe | 1841 |
| Prynne, W. | Healthe’s Sicknesse | 1628 |
| ” | Pymlico; or Runne Red Cap | 1609 |
| Rae, Rob. | Handbook of Temperance History | — |
| Randall, Th. | Arislippus | 1652 |
| ” | The Virtues of a Pot of Good Ale | 1642 |
| Reade, A. A. | Study and Stimulants | 1883 |
| Redding, C. | History and Description of Modern Wines | 1833 |
| Reeve, Th. | God’s Plea for Nineveh | 1657 |
| Reid, W. | The Evils of Modern Drinking | 1850 |
| ” | Temperance Cyclopædia | 1851 |
| ” | Our National Vice | 1858 |
| Reid, Th. | Intemperance Considered | 1850 |
| Ricket, E. | Gentleman’s Table Guide | 1873 |
| Rich, Barnaby | The Irish Hubbub | 1617 |
| Richardson, Dr. B. W. | On Alcohol (Cantor Lectures) | 1875 |
| ” | Researches on Alcohol | 1877 |
| ” | Total Abstinence | 1878 |
| ” | Dialogues on Drink | 1878 |
| Richardson, Dr. B. W. | Drink and Strong Drink | 1882 |
| ” | Asclepiad, passim | 1884-9 |
| Rigby, J. | The Drunkard’s Perspective | 1656 |
| Ridge, Dr. J. | The Temperance Primer | 1879 |
| ” | Non-Alcoholic Treatments | 1889 |
| Ritchie, W. | Scripture Testimony | 1874 |
| Robson, W. | De Effect Vini et Spiritus | 1803 |
| Roberts, G. | Social History of the Southern Counties | 1856 |
| Rosewell, H. | Religious Revel | 1711 |
| Russell, A. G. | Drinking and Disease | 1868 |
| Russom, J. | Evil Effects of Beer-shops | 1849 |
| Rye, W. B. | England as seen by Foreigners | 1865 |
| Rymer, Thomas | Roxburghe Revels | 1834 |
| Samuelson, J. | The History of Drink | 1878 |
| ” | Beer Scientifically and Socially Considered | 1870 |
| Scrivener, M. | A Treatise against Drunkenness | 1685 |
| Sedgwick, J. A. | New Treatise on Liquors | 1725 |
| Shannon, Dr. | On Brewing and Distillation | 1805 |
| Sharman, H. R. | A Cloud of Witnesses | 1884 |
| Shaw, T. G. | Wine | 1864 |
| Sheen, J. R. | Wines and other Fermented Liquors | 1864 |
| Sherlock, F. | Shakespeare on Temperance, &c. | 1882 |
| Sinclair, Sir J. | History of Revenue | 1785 |
| Smith, Albert | Wassail-Bowl | 1843 |
| ” | A Bowl of Punch | 1848 |
| Smith, Dr. Edward | Action of Tea and Alcohol | 1860 |
| ” | The Action of Alcohol (Journ. Soc. Arts) | 1862 |
| ” | On the Action of Foods | 1859 |
| Smith, J. | The Temperance Reformation | 1875 |
| Speechly, W. | The Culture of the Vine | 1790 |
| Strenock, J. | God’s Sword drawn against Drunkards | 1677 |
| Strutt, J. | Horda | 1774 |
| Stubs, P. | The Anatomie of Abuses | 1583 |
| Stuckins | De Antiquorum Conviviis | — |
| Symonds, J. A. | Wine, Women, and Song | 1884 |
| Taylor, John | Drinke and Welcome | 1637 |
| ” | A Relation of the Wine Taverns | 1636 |
| ” | Drunkenness an indirect Cause of Crime | 1860 |
| Teare, J. | The Principle of Total Abstinence | 1846 |
| Terrington, W. | Cooling Cups | 1880 |
| Thomson, Thomas | Diet for a Drunkard | 1612 |
| Thomson, Dr. S. | Use and Abuse of Alcoholic Liquor | 1850 |
| Thorpe, B. | Ancient Laws and Institutes | 1840 |
| Thrupp, J. | The Anglo-Saxon Home | 1862 |
| Thudichum, J. L. W. | On the Origin, Nature, &c., of Wine | 1872 |
| Timbs, John | Clubs and Club Life | 1872 |
| Tomline | Monastic and Social Life | — |
| Tovey, C. | Wit ... distilled from Bacchus | 1878 |
| ” | British and Foreign Spirits | 1864 |
| Trotter, Dr. T. | Essay on Drunkenness | 1804 |
| Tryon, Dr. T. | The Way to Wealth | 1683 |
| Tuckerman, H. T. | The Collector | — |
| Turner, Dr. W. | A New Boke of the Properties of Wines | 1568 |
| Ullmus, J. F. | De Ebrietate Fugiendâ | 1589 |
| Venner | Via Recta ad Vitam Longam | 1628 |
| Vizetelly, H. | History of Champagne | 1882 |
| Ward, Samuel | Woe to Drunkards | 1622 |
| Ward and Clark | Warning Piece | 1682 |
| Ward, Ned | The Complete Vintner | 1721 |
| ” | Bacchanalia | 1698 |
| Ward, George | The Opinions of Medical Men | 1868 |
| Warner, R. | Antiquitates Culinariæ | 1791 |
| Weston, Agnes | Temperance Work in the Navy | 1879 |
| Whistlecraft, W. | The Monks and the Giants | 1818 |
| Whitaker, T. | The Blood of the Grape | 1638 |
| White, G. | Hints, Moral and Medical | 1840 |
| Whitewell, E. | Evidence on Sunday-Closing | 1880 |
| Wightman, Mrs. | Arrest the Destroyer’s March | 1877 |
| Whyte, J. | The Alcoholic Controversy | 1880 |
| Wilson, Dr. C. | The Pathology of Drunkenness | 1855 |
| Wilson, C. H. | The Myrtle and Vine | 1800 |
| Winskill, P. T. | History of the Temperance Reformation | 1881 |
| Winslow, F. | The Death March of Drinkdom | 1881 |
| Woodward, J. | A Dissuasive from Drunkenness | 1798 |
| Worlidge, J. | Vinetum Britannicum | 1676 |
| Worth, W. P. | Cerevisiarii Comes | 1692 |
| Wright, J. | Country Conversations of Drinking, &c. | 1694 |
| Wright, T. | Homes of other Days | 1871 |
| Whittaker, Thomas | Life’s Battle in Temperance Armour | 1884 |
| Youmans, E. | The Basis of Prohibition | 1846 |
| Young, F. | The Epicure | 1815 |
| Young, T. | England’s Bane | 1617 |
| Yonge, R. | Blemish of Government | 1655 |
NINETEEN CENTURIES OF DRINK IN ENGLAND.
CHAPTER I.
ROMAN PERIOD.
Little is known of the manners and customs of our island inhabitants before the Saxon period; hence, there can be no wonder that all is obscure before the Roman invasion. For the hints that have come to light we are indebted to such foreign historians as wrote in the century before the Christian era, the century of the invasion, and the age immediately subsequent.
These hints, utterly meagre, but generally consistent, are supplied by such writers before Christ as Diodorus and Cæsar, and such historians of the first century as Strabo, Dioscorides, and Pliny.
Diodorus (lib. v.) notes the simplicity in the manners of the British, and their being satisfied with a frugal sustenance, and avoiding the luxuries of wealth. He further observes:—‘Their diet was simple; their food consisted chiefly of milk and venison. Their ordinary drink was water. Upon extraordinary occasions they drank a kind of fermented liquor made of barley, honey, or apples, and when intoxicated never failed to quarrel, like the ancient Thracians.’
Cæsar (De Bell. Gall. v.) observes that the inhabitants of the interior do not sow grain, but live on milk and flesh.
Strabo, whose description of Britain in his fourth book is barren, and not apparently independent (for he seems mainly to follow Cæsar), writes in the early part of the first century (probably about a.d. 18), that the Britons had some slight notion of planting orchards.
Dioscorides, in the middle of the same century, affirms that the Britons instead of wine use curmi, a liquor made of barley. Pliny the Elder speaks of the drinks in vogue in his time of the beer genus, variously called zythum, celia, cerea, Cereris vinum, curmi, cerevisia. These, he says (lib. xiv.), were known to the nations inhabiting the west of Europe. He exclaims against the wide-spread intemperance: ‘The whole world is addicted to drunkenness; the perverted ingenuity of man has given even to water the power of intoxicating where wine is not procurable. Western nations intoxicate themselves by means of moistened grain.’
It is important to add that Tacitus asserts (Vit. Agricol.) that the soil of this country abundantly produces all fruits except the olive, the grape, and some others which are indigenous to a warm climate.
Putting together these scattered allusions we gather,—(1) that wine was unknown to the Britons before the Roman conquest. It is absurd to suppose that a people as simple as the Britons, and holding so little intercourse with other nations, should as yet obtain from abroad such an article of luxury as wine, or prepare it from a fruit not a native of the soil. Indeed, it was only about a century before the Roman invasion of England that vines were cultivated to any extent in the Roman empire; so scarce had wines been previously that the libations to the gods were directed to be made with milk.
(2) That the inhabitants of the interior used no intoxicant, unless possibly metheglin. The language of Cæsar implies this. Above the borders of the southern coast, which were inhabited by Belgæ, and by them cultivated, there were few traces of civilisation. The midlanders were unacquainted with agriculture, contenting themselves with pasture; whilst the northerners depended on the produce of the chase, or upon that which grew spontaneously. And everywhere it is the same. The earliest savage inhabitants of any district eat without dressing what the earth produces without cultivation, and drink water (dwr, ὕδωρ). Savage nature is simple and uniform, whereas art and refinement are infinitely various.
(3) That the southerners made some kind of intoxicant from grain, from honey, and from apples.
Before the introduction of agriculture, metheglin was the only strong drink known to our inhabitants, and it was a favourite beverage with them long after they had become acquainted with other drinks. The rearing of bees became an important branch of industry; and we shall find later on, that in the courts of the ancient princes of Wales the mead-maker held an important position in point of dignity.
Metheglin (Welsh Meddyglyn), also called hydromel and mead, was a drink as universal as it was ancient. Testimony is afforded to this by the Sanscrit mathu, Greek μέθυ and μέλι, Latin mel, Saxon medo and medu, Danish miod, German meth. And here one must regret to demur to the suggested derivation of Metheglin from Matthew Glinn, who possessed a large stock of bees that he wished to turn into gain. The modes of the manufacture of this drink vary much in different countries. In the times to which we refer, the principal ingredients were rain-water and honey. Somewhat later it is described as wine and honey sodden together.
After the introduction of agriculture, ale (called by the Britons kwrw or cwrw) became a common drink. An early writer thus describes its manufacture: ‘The grain is steeped in water and made to germinate; it is then dried and ground; after which it is infused in a certain quantity of water, which being fermented becomes a pleasant, warming, strengthening, and intoxicating liquor.’
Cider became known to the Britons at an early date. John Beale, a seventeenth-century authority on orchard produce, thought seider to be a genuine British word; but it is generally referred to the Greek σίκερα, which, curiously enough, is rendered in Wycliffe’s version of the Bible, sydyr:—‘For he schal be gret before the Lord; and he schal not drinke wyn ne sydyr.’[1] Macpherson, in his Annals, rightly says that cider extracted from wild apples was early known to the British in common with other Northern nations, whilst Whitaker (History of Manchester) thinks that this beverage was introduced by the Romans. The opinion entertained by some that it was a Norman invention is entirely a mistake. The principal cider districts of the present day are Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Monmouth, Somerset, and Devon. Its medicinal qualities are variously stated. Lord Bacon accounted it to promote long life. Sir George Baker considered it a cure for dropsy. On the other hand, Dr. Epps (Journal of Health and Disease) speaks of dropsy and insanity as common diseases in Herefordshire, and says it is easy to understand how diseased kidneys are produced by the acid in the cider, and how dropsy follows from these diseased kidneys.
We next inquire what kind of Inns were known to the Ancient Britons. During the time of the Druids there was an order of people called Beatachs, Brughnibhs, or keepers of open houses, established for the express purpose of hospitality. These were pretty much of the same character as the chaoultries in India, and the caravanseries in the East. In Ireland, the bruigh was a person provided with land and stock by the prince of the territory, to keep beds, stabling, and such amusements as backgammon boards. The character of these houses was, as we shall find, vastly altered in Saxon times, when their names, Eala-hus, Win-hus, &c., sufficiently betokened the rationale of their existence.
We have seen that wine was unknown in this country before the Roman occupation. But the tide of emigration soon set in from Rome to Britain. The new-comers brought with them the arts and manufactures of their own country. The importation of wines presented to our islanders a new species of luxury. Evidently contrasting the simple habits of her subjects with those of the Roman invaders, Queen Boadicea (a.d. 61), making ready for battle, appeals in an impassioned speech to the heart of her troops, in which she exclaims: ‘To us, every herb and root are food, every juice is our oil, and water is our wine.’ For well-nigh three centuries of Roman occupation, wine continued to be an import. It remained for a Roman emperor to give permission to the Britons to cultivate vines and to make wine. The circumstances were these: The Emperor Domitian (a.d. 81), in order to check the growth of intemperance, issued an edict for the destruction of half the vineyards, and prohibited any more planting of vines without licence from the emperors. Probus acceded to the imperial purple, a.d. 276. This emperor, having conquered Gaul, revoked the edict of Domitian, and allowed the provinces to plant vines and make wine. Britain was included in the licence. From that time the purple grape twined around many a British homestead. But whether it ever really thrived in our soil and climate is more than conjectural. Pliny throws doubt upon the whole subject.[2] Camden regards the boon as affording shade rather than produce.[3] Still there is a chain of evidence that for centuries vineyards were planted in various districts, which would not have been the case had they been a complete failure. Five centuries after the edict of Probus, Bede testifies to their existence;[4] whilst Holinshed, in the sixteenth century, writes:—‘that wine did grow here, the old notes of tithes for wine that yet remain, besides the records of sundry sutes commenced in diverse ecclesiastical courts; ... also the enclosed parcels almost in every abbeie yet called vineyards, may be a notable witnesse. The Isle of Elie also was in the first times of the Normans called le ile des vignes.’[5] Nor can we wonder at the efforts to establish the grape as a native production when we consider the almost universal attachment to the fruit in one or other of its forms. If mead was in general demand, still more so was wine. The common appetite found fitting expression in a common nomenclature, and we find the names given to wine in every country bearing a striking similarity. Compare the English wine with the Gaelic fion, the French vin, Italian vino, Welsh gwin, Danish viin, German wein, Latin vinum, Greek οἶνος, Hebrew yayin, the root term conveying the notion, according to some, of boiling up, ferment, whilst others refer it to the Hebrew verb signifying to press out.
Whether an advantage or otherwise, to the Romans undoubtedly we owe signboards. The bush, which was for ages with us the sign of an inn, we owe immediately to them. Our proverb, ‘Good wine needs no bush,’ is of course own child to the Latin ‘Vino vendibili suspensa hedera non opus est’—‘Wine that will sell needs no advertisement.’ Our sign of ‘Two Jolly Brewers’ carrying a tun slung on a long pole is the counterpart of a relic from Pompeii representing two slaves carrying an amphora.[6]
Again, our country owes to Roman influence the national custom of toasting or health-drinking.
The present writer has observed elsewhere[7] that among the Romans luxury was carried to unbounded excess. Many were their forms of revelry; amongst these were comissationes, or drinking bouts pure and simple. At these no food was taken, save as a relish to the wine. Specimens of their toasting formalities will be found in several classical authors.[8]
It were idle to imagine that the Britons were uninfluenced by such marked features of social life. If these customs had not been adopted by them before the time of Agricola, it is certain that when that most diplomatic of governors held sway here, he would teach the jeunesse dorée to drink healths to the emperor, and to toast the British belles of the hour in brimming bumpers. Sensual banquets, with their attendant revelry, no less than spacious baths and elegant villas, speedily became as palatable to the new subjects as to their corrupt masters.[9]
Intemperance was no stranger to any rank of society. Not even the imperial purple was stainless.[10] Thus was the soil prepared for the seed so abundantly to be sown when the Saxon, the Roman’s successor, should incorporate himself with our British population.