How Durham was awash with fights and booze 150 years ago

The headline referred to just one of the court cases that the paper was reporting on, but there are so many alcohol-related incidents crammed into its dense pages, that the headline could refer to any, or all, of them. These are a few of the stories from one day’s sitting of the Durham County police court as told by the Advertiser of September 11, 1874:

Three publicans in Witton Gilbert were found guilty of selling drink after hours on the day of the annual flower show. Police were watching the pubs and searching people leaving after closing time, finding bottles of whiskey in their pockets – whiskey they were taking to the flower show ball that ran throughout the night and was renowned for its drunkenness.

READ MORE: CHICKEN GOGGLES, A KINGFISHER CATCHER AND A WEATHER PROGNOSTICATOR: THE HISTORY OF THE COUNTRYSIDE IN 100 EXTRAORDINARY OBJECTS

Three sinkers from Browney Colliery were ejected from the Brancepeth Castle Hotel when their state, following a cricket club annual meeting, changed from “hard singing drunk” to “riotous”. One of them, William Liddle, produced a knife which he threatened to plunge through landlord William Franks’ heart. He then grabbed the landlord’s army with his teeth. Each sinker was fined £1 with Liddle fined another £2 for grievous assault.

Hawker David Carlyle was found “rolling about the pavement in Crossgate in a drunken state” and was fined 10s.

Elizabeth Robinson, “a pest to the city and to the police made her 19th appearance on the charge of drunkenness. Sent to prison for a month”.

John Sweating of Gilesgate, labourer, was drunk in Durham market place and, “without the slightest provocation” assaulted William McIntyre, of Trimdon, with a whip when Mr McIntyre was discussing “a certain pig in a cree” with another man. Sweating was fined 20s.

READ MORE: IF YOU WANT TO GET AHEAD, GET A SALT PIG, AND 59 HATS

But Michel Keenan of The Boyne was “discovered in a state of helpless inebriety on Framwellgate bridge” but was discharged because of his previously good character: “It is to be hoped that now he knows its worth, he will keep it,” said the Advertiser.

The Boyne was a collection of terraces beside Langley Moor which served the short-lived Boyne Colliery. It was named after the landowner, Viscount Boyne of Brancepeth Castle, but only operated in the 1870s and 1880s. The Boyne was obviously a tough sort of a place because Sarah Robson accused Ellen Pears of assaulting her in a drunken fracas at the village pump. The Advertiser said: “Mr Brignall, in his defence of Mrs Pears, admitted that his client was a very excitable woman, but the quarrel arose in consequence of the abominable names which the complainant had called his client.” Both women were bound over to keep the peace.

There was another all-female inebriated encounter in New Durham where Elizabeth Stewart clapped her hand upon an unmentionable part of (Isabell Goodway’s) person and said she would take her life as well as that of her daughter.” Both women were fined.

The strangest of cases appeared under the headline “Pitman blowing his house up”. PC Crabbs told how he had been called to Wheatley Hill at 3am on Monday following reports of a fire. He went into the house of miner George Hobbs where “he found the furniture blown nearly all to pieces and burning, and on questioning the defendant, he admitted being drunk and putting 2lbs of powder among the furniture which he had piled up, and afterwards set fire to the powder. The bed was torn into shreds and the furniture was much damaged.” No explanation was given for Mr Hobbs’ behaviour – it was as if it were entirely natural after having a few too many beers to blow up your own furniture. He was remanded in custody for a week.

READ MORE: MEET THE MAVERICKS OF LAVERICKS: THE STORY OF ONE OF DARLINGTON'S QUIRKIEST BUILDINGS