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This is quite a short extract from the National Guardian in January of 1890, but I found it quite interesting and amusing! The short text tells us that beer and ale were sold in churches in the middle ages and were in competition with the small breweries of the time.

In the middle ages beer was drunk as a religious duty – and we may be sure that the duty was devoutly discharged. The early brewers were mostly breweresses. The sign of their trade was a bunch of ivy or a green bush hung over the door. But they encountered serious competition from the clergy, who held drinking bouts of unlimited duration, at which ale and beer were sold in the church house, or even perhaps within the walls of the sacred edifice itself, to all comers.

Well, that is certainly one way to get everyone to go to church regularly!

With the majority of pubs closing on New Year’s Day in 1890, one of the pubs on Argyle Street decided to ignore the ‘advice’ and stayed open. Much to the publican’s delight, it was mobbed! The snippet reads:

One of our subscribers in Argyle Street, Glasgow, informs us that on New Year’s Day his premises were visited by over 4000 customers. The stream of visitors was continuous and in not over 20 instances was a whole glass of spirits ordered. Ober 1200 twopenny pies in addition to piles of sandwiches were consumed, and the principal liquors ordered were beer and aerated waters. The great bulk of people were evidently from the country.

Staying open on New Year’s day certainly paid off for this publican!

In the National Guardian in January of 1890, we see a small article that mentions Bovril wine. Bovril was heavily advertised in the National Guardian and other publications at the time, but I wasn’t aware that they created a wine. Here is the article:

The organ of the Permissive Bill Association, The Reformer , “has no quarrel” with Bovril, but it damns “bovril wine,” the new preparation, because – horror of horrors! – it contains “selected port wine and other ingredients.” This is hard on Bovril, Ltd., and the “powers that be” out to see that their advertisement is not allowed to appear in the columns of a journal which gives them such a back-handed “puff.”

If you found this interesting and would like to support our research, you can become a member of Old Glasgow Pubs for the small price of a pint of beer a month! Members gain access to a monthly edition of the National Guardian (or other publications from the past) as well as exclusive content only available to members. Click here to find out more about the membership.