Now for nearly 40 years I enjoyed using William Hogarths' prints to support teaching the 18th century, and amongst that wonderful collection I trawled his Gin Lane print with a vengeance, often accompanied by his counter print called Beer Street.
Usually both prints went down well as part of a lesson on the 18th century craze of Gin Drinking, and I have to say the response of Year 9 students was matched by that from those who at local history groups.
All of which is a lead into the In Our Time broadcast on The Gin Craze, first broadcast in 2016 and repeated today on the wireless.
"Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the craze for gin in Britain in the mid-18th century and the attempts to control it.
With the arrival of William of Orange, it became an act of loyalty to drink Protestant, Dutch gin rather than Catholic brandy, and changes in tariffs made everyday beer less affordable.
Within a short time, production increased and large sections of the population that had rarely or never drunk spirits before were consuming two pints of gin a week.
As Hogarth indicated in his print 'Beer Street and Gin Lane' (1751) in support of the Gin Act, the damage was severe, and addiction to gin was blamed for much of the crime in cities such as London.
With Angela McShane, Research Fellow in History at the Victoria and Albert Museum and University of Sheffield, Judith Hawley, Professor of 18th century literature at Royal Holloway, University of London, Emma Major, Senior Lecturer in English at the University of York
Producer: Simon Tillotson".*
Location; the 18th century
Picture; Gin Lane, and Beer Street, William Hogarth, 1751
*The Gin Craze, In Our Time, Radio 4, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b084zk6z
Usually both prints went down well as part of a lesson on the 18th century craze of Gin Drinking, and I have to say the response of Year 9 students was matched by that from those who at local history groups.
All of which is a lead into the In Our Time broadcast on The Gin Craze, first broadcast in 2016 and repeated today on the wireless.
With the arrival of William of Orange, it became an act of loyalty to drink Protestant, Dutch gin rather than Catholic brandy, and changes in tariffs made everyday beer less affordable.
Within a short time, production increased and large sections of the population that had rarely or never drunk spirits before were consuming two pints of gin a week.
As Hogarth indicated in his print 'Beer Street and Gin Lane' (1751) in support of the Gin Act, the damage was severe, and addiction to gin was blamed for much of the crime in cities such as London.
With Angela McShane, Research Fellow in History at the Victoria and Albert Museum and University of Sheffield, Judith Hawley, Professor of 18th century literature at Royal Holloway, University of London, Emma Major, Senior Lecturer in English at the University of York
Location; the 18th century
Picture; Gin Lane, and Beer Street, William Hogarth, 1751
*The Gin Craze, In Our Time, Radio 4, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b084zk6z
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