Mother’s Ruin is a phrase often associated with gin and probably comes from the 18th century when gin consumption in this country was completely out of control, and much worse than the drink and drugs issues we are concerned about today. Something like 10 million gallons of gin were being distilled in London annually and the average Londoner drank 14 gallons of spirit each year!
It was available everywhere, hawked by barbers, pedlars and grocers, market stalls, and from a neighbour near you! The duty on gin was a fraction of that on beer and when it was raised it pushed sales underground. In 1736 a Gin Act was passed requiring anyone who wished to sell “distilled spirituous liquor” to hold a licence that cost £50, a small fortune at that time. Between 1736 and 1745 only 3 licences were sold, but gin was still the preferred drink of the poor. Addiction to spirits leads to negligence, poverty and death. In fact the death rate was exceeding the birth rate at this time, as over consumption of gin affected both male and female fertility.
The novelist Henry Fielding (1707-54), was chief magistrate for Westminster from 1749 to 1754 and led a campaign directed against gin drinking helped by his friend William Hogarth who in 1951 produced two prints – Gin Street and Beer Street showing in the former the devastation caused by gin drinking and in the latter the inspiration given to artists and refreshment to tradesmen and labourers of beer drinking. It was successful: an act against gin was passed later in 1751. This was effective in curbing the evils of spirit drinking. Gin consumption continued to decline, and was finally killed off in 1830 when all tax on beer was removed and to sell beer required a licence that cost only £2 guineas.
The horrors of Gin Lane provided imagery for propaganda against alcohol for another hundred years. It was a very effective advertising campaign, and Hogarth was funded by wealthy brewers, who used their success to lobby for tax reductions which eventually came.
Small batch gin distilling didn’t resume in London until 2009, however the growth in gin distilleries has a long way to go before it reaches the heights of the 18th century!
