TUT, tut, imagine the Government trying to discourage people from drinking too much.

Well they did – and a lot longer ago than you may think.

Or at least they were trying to curb people’s consumption of strong spirits.

Beer? That was a different matter.

What brings this up? Well a reader has been in touch asking if I know why, in the old local trade directories, beer-only houses aren’t listed among other licensed premises, such as public houses and hotels.

I wondered about this myself recently when I had a query about a bar, the Lord Raglan (was it at High Shields?) which doesn’t feature in the directories, presumably because it was a beer-only establishment.

Another I was speculating about some time ago was the Benton Inn, in Adelaide Street, which also isn’t listed.

I’m still not entirely sure of the explanation, but beer-only houses, which as well as beer, were actually also allowed to sell cider, had their origins in the first half of the 19th century, when there was concern about the public appetite for gin.

Gin was cheap and ‘gin fever’ was reckoned to be gripping the nation, hence the passing of the Beer Act in 1830 which, in a bid to direct people towards ale – regarded as a healthy drink then – removed the duty on it.

It meant anyone could sell beer and cider from their property – a venture that proved so popular that within less than a decade, there were more than 40,000 beer-only houses across the country.

Some beer-only houses existed into the 1950s, and it may be that one or two folk remember them still.

n You must have thought I had been on the pop myself when I got my own address wrong the other day.

This was with respect to the competition to win copies of Eileen Burnett’s book, South Shields Pubs. The Gazette is no longer at Chapter Row, of course, and entries should be sent to me c/o 7 Beach Road, South Shields, NE33 2QA.

Because of the mix-up I’m extending the deadline for entries to this Friday, November 21.