Angela McShane

In Our Time

In Our Time: The Gin Craze

BBC Radio 4

The Gin Craze

BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time, The Gin Craze

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the cause and impact of the gin craze in the 18th century.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the economic and social factors that led to the craze for gin in the 18th century and the moves to control it

In a programme first broadcast in December 2016, 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

Accessibility links

Programme Index

In Our Time

The Gin Craze

Contributors

Genres

Brand