Licensed Premises not to be Used for certain Purposes.—No room in any licensed premises may be used as a justices' room by the council of any borough having a separate commission of the peace.
No room in any licensed premises may be used for a parish meeting or meeting of a parish council, or of a district council or of a board of guardians, except in cases where no other suitable room is available for such meeting, either free of charge or at a reasonable cost.
No meeting of justices in Petty or Special Sessions may be held in premises licensed for the sale of intoxicating liquors, or in any room, whether licensed or not, in any building licensed for the sale of intoxicating liquors; nor may any coroner's inquest be held on such licensed premises where other suitable premises have been provided for such inquest.
Brewers' Almanack 1915, pages 317 - 318.
If you're wondering what a board of guardians is, that's the committee overseeing the operation of the local workhouse. And, from reports I've read in newspapers, they were mostly a right bunch of miserable, self-righteous gits.
The one about inquests is interesting. Because I've seen reports of inquests being performed in London pubs in the 19th century. Which quite surprised me at the time. Though it doesn't say that they were totally forbidden in pubs. Just that they weren't allowed when there were suitable unlicensed premises.
And that's it for this series. I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it. What will I use to fill up my blog now that I've exhausted this source? I don't know, but Im sure I'll find something.
Posts
5 comments:
There are a few references in Dickens novels to coroners holding inquests and workhouse guardians meetings in pubs so it must have been pretty common then. Obviously something that the temperance lot decided had to be stamped out.
It was far from unknown for coroners' inquests to be held on licensed premises, if the folk song Poor Murdered Woman is anything to go on. Verse 6:
She was took off the Common and down to some inn
And the man that has kept it his name is John Simms
The Coroner was sent for and the jury they joined
And soon they concluded and they settled their mind
This dates from 1824.
How about a series on what was allowed in a pub in 1914?
I'm genuinely surprised this list of highly specific restrictions wasn't ten times as long, eventually describing how pickled eggs were only allowed on alternate Fridays, nobody could wear white shoes without a note from a doctor, and how mentioning the Battle of Yorktown after 7 PM would get you a three shilling fine.
Pubs in Ireland have been used for sittings of district courts https://www.thejournal.ie/at-the-bar-court-sitting-in-tipperary-pub-went-very-well-says-landlord-319812-Jan2012/
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-25637342.amp
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/what-the-world-made-of-our-pub-court/29900848.html.
Oscar
Post a Comment