Photo: Shows the front of one of the cards issued by Wolverhampton police, from the collections of Wolverhampton Archives.
Cards, showing pictures of convicted drunkards from nearly 100 years ago, have been purchased at auction by Wolverhampton City Council’s Archive Service.
The set of six cards were issued to the New Inn on Dudley Road, Brierley Hill (now the Dog and Lamp Post) in about 1905 by Wolverhampton Police.
"I am delighted these fascinating documents have been added to our collections where they are available for anyone to come and see them", says Peter Evans, Wolverhampton City Archivist.
"They give us a glimpse as to how the authorities sought to tackle drunken behaviour 100 years ago."
Photo:Shows the back of one of the cards issued to the New Inn on Dudley Road, from the collections of Wolverhampton Archives.
The cards show four women and two men, and give their names, addresses, ages and occupations together with details of their appearance and any distinguishing marks.
Under the Licensing Act of 1902 the local police issued cards like these to ensure those convicted of being habitual drunkards were not served in local pubs.
If the landlord of the pub was convicted of supplying alcohol to the person on the card they could be fined £10.
Photo: Shows a card of a woman habitual drunkard, from the collections of Wolverhampton Archives.
The cards compliment other archive material housed at Wolverhampton Council’s City Archives and Local Studies Unit.
Peter Evans says, "The habitual drunkard cards tie in with other records we have, for instance each of these convictions appears in the magistrates’ court records we hold. According to the register kept in the archives for example, Sarah Haywood, was convicted of being drunk three times in one year which led to her being classified as an 'habitual offender.'"
"We also have copies of the local newspapers for the time which may well have carried reports of the convictions," he added.
Wolverhampton Council’s City Archives and Local Studies Unit is based at 42-50 Snow Hill. It is open Monday, Tuesday and Friday 10am until 5pm, Wednesday 10am until 7pm, closed on Thursday and open 10am until 5pm on the first and third Saturdays of each month. To contact the unit call 01902 552 480 or visit www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/archives.
