‘The worst of drunkards’: female drunkenness in mid-Victorian Lancashire Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Craig Naden Stafford. September 2018 Abstract Craig Naden Stafford ‘The worst of drunkards’: female drunkenness in mid-Victorian Lancashire Historical research on Victorian female drunkenness has focussed, almost overwhelmingly, on the effects of the habitual drunkards legislation of the last two decades of the nineteenth century. Furthermore, the women who comprised the prison population during Victoria’s reign have been under-researched. Drunkenness was the most common offence for which women were committed to prison and this thesis examines the lives of women incarcerated in Strangeways Prison, Manchester, between 1869 and 1875. This was a period of intense concern about drunkenness in general and female drunkenness in particular, with fierce debate over licensing legislation being held both in Parliament and the provinces. The objectives of the thesis were, firstly, to provide an overview of the licensing debates, policing and sentencing of female drunkenness in two Lancashire boroughs, Salford and Rochdale, combined with an examination of the life cycle of women committed to gaol. It explored the debates surrounding drunkenness at a parliamentary level and how these debates were reflected in social commentary in these boroughs. Secondly, the thesis explored local power dynamics in Salford and Rochdale and showed the impact that police policy and magisterial discretion had on the number of women prosecuted and imprisoned for the offence. It noted that working class women were targeted by the police and that the personal views of policemen and magistrates were instrumental in their drive against drunkenness. Finally, the thesis re-constructed the lived experience of incarcerated women, by examining their family lives, occupations and places of birth. It showed that vulnerability to imprisonment for drunkenness was the preserve of the marginal working class, especially migrants and women who were not part of a familial or neighbourhood support network. Additionally, poverty and poor living conditions were key features in the lives of imprisoned women. Contents Page List of Tables and Figures vi Glossary of Terms xi Acknowledgements xii Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1) Introduction 1 1.2) The Research Period 2 1.3) South-east Lancashire 3 1.4) Female Drunkenness 5 1.5) Structure 6 1.6) Literature Review 9 1.7) Licensing Legislation 9 1.8) The Policing of Female Drunkenness 15 1.9) Female Drunkenness and Incarceration 19 1.10) Conclusion 25 Chapter 2: Sources and Methodology 2.1) Introduction 27 2.2) The Methodology 27 2.3) Quantitative Sources 31 2.4) Court and Geographical Data 37 2.5) Biographical and Personal Data 42 2.6) Qualitative Sources 48 2.7) Conclusion 53 Chapter 3: Mid-Victorian Salford and Rochdale 3.1) Introduction 55 3.2) Geography and Population 56 3.3) Mid-Victorian Improvement 68 3.4) Occupations and Economy 70 3.5) Politics 73 3.6) Social Commentary: The Press, Police and Magistracy 77 3.7) Conclusion 85 iii Chapter 4: National Context: Mid-Victorian Concerns About Drunkenness 4.1) Introduction 87 4.2) The Policing of Drunkenness 88 4.3) Crimes of Violence 94 4.4) Drink and the Economy 97 4.5) The Medical Profession 102 4.6) Female Drunkenness 104 4.7) Legislation 108 4.8) Conclusion 112 Chapter 5: Local Context: Salford and Rochdale 5.1) Introduction 115 5.2) Lancashire 115 5.3) The Licensing Question 118 5.4) Perceptions of Female Drunkenness 123 5.5) The Policing of Drunkenness 126 5.6) Drunkenness and Violence 137 5.7) Conclusion 143 Chapter 6: Sentencing Patterns 6.1) Introduction 145 6.2) Committals to Strangeways Prison, 1869-1875 146 6.3) The Case Studies: Salford and Rochdale 152 6.4) The Magistrates 158 6.5) Multiple Committals 162 6.6) Were Female Offenders ‘Doubly Damned’? 167 6.7) Conclusion 175 Chapter 7: Age, Marital Status and Family 7.1) Introduction 177 7.2) Age, Marital Status and Family, All Summary Areas 177 7.3) Age Query 182 7.4) Case Studies: Salford and Rochdale 184 7.5) Marital Status 194 7.6) Family Size 210 7.7) Support Networks 213 7.8) Conclusion 217 Chapter 8: Occupations and Education 8.1) Introduction 219 8.2) Occupations of Female Inmates 219 8.3) Case Studies: Salford and Rochdale 225 8.4) Drink and Prostitution 236 8.5) Education 243 8.6) Conclusion 245 iv Chapter 9: Ethnicity, Migration and Religion 9.1) Introduction 247 9.2) Overview – All Summary Areas 248 9.3) Case Studies: Salford and Rochdale 250 9.4) Place of Residence 262 9.5) Homeless Women 267 9.6) Committals from Multiple Courts 271 9.7) Religion 273 9.8) Case Study: Theresa Wilson 274 9.9) Conclusion 277 Chapter 10: Re-offending and Desistance 10.1) Introduction 280 10.2) Overview – All Summary Areas 280 10.3) Case Studies: Salford and Rochdale 286 10.4) Occupations in Relation to Re-Offending 288 10.5) Higher Courts 291 10.6) Case Study: Mary Kelly 294 10.7) Case Study: Sarah Madden 297 10.8) Conclusion 301 Chapter 11: Conclusion 303 Appendices 309 Bibliography 336 v List of Tables and Figures All tables and figures taken from Strangeways Prison female registers, 1869-1875, unless otherwise stated Page Chapter 2: Sources and Methodology Table 2.1: Number of offences by summary area, 1869-1875 33 Table 2.2: Major category of offences, Salford, 1869-1875 33 Table 2.3: Age group of women by major offence category, Salford, 1869-1875 34 Table 2.4: Age groups of prisoners in judicial statistics and corresponding age groups in database, 1869-1875 43 Table 2.5: Education level of prisoners in judicial statistics and corresponding label in database, 1869-1875 43 Chapter 3: Mid-Victorian Salford and Rochdale Figure 3.1: Bartholomew’s Map of North-West Manchester and Salford, 1870 60 Table 3.1: Population density, Salford, 1876 61 Table 3.2: Population density, Rochdale, 1877 61 Figure 3.2: Packer Street, Rochdale, c.1866 64 Table 3.3: Occupations of males and females aged 20 years and upwards, Salford and Rochdale, 1871 70 Table 3.4: Occupations, political affiliations and religions of Justices of the Peace, Rochdale, 1872-1875 82 Table 3.5: Occupations, political affiliations and religions of Justices of the Peace, Salford, 1875 84 Chapter 4: National Context: Mid-Victorian Concerns About Drunkenness Figure 4.1: Number of prosecutions for drunkenness, England and Wales, 1869-1881 88 Figure 4.2: Number of prosecutions for assault, England and Wales, 1869-1881 96 vi Chapter 5: Local Context: Salford and Rochdale Figure 5.1: The Gank, Rochdale in the 1850s 129 Figure 5.2: Number proceeded against for drunkenness, Salford and Rochdale, 1869-1881 131 Figure 5.3: Number proceeded against for common assault, Salford and Rochdale, 1869-1880 137 Figure 5.4: Number proceeded against for assaulting the police, Salford and Rochdale, 1869-1880 137 Table 5.1: Number of prosecutions for crimes of violence, Salford, 1868-1876 141 Chapter 6: Sentencing Patterns for Drunkenness and Crimes of Violence Figure 6.1: Major offence category of women committed to Strangeways Prison, 1869-1875 146 Table 6.1: Summary committals for women, Strangeways Prison, 1869-1875 147 Figure 6.2: Drunkenness as a proportion of all summary committals of females by summary area, 1869-1875 152 Figure 6.3: Number of female committals for drunkenness, Salford and Rochdale, 1869-1875 153 Figure 6.4: Number of female committals for crimes of violence, Salford and Rochdale, 1869-1875 154 Table 6.2: Committals to prison for drunkenness, with sentences of one calendar month, without the option of a fine, by court, 1869-1875 156 Figure 6.3: Number of multiple committals per summary area, 1869-1875 164 Chapter 7: Age, Family and Marital Status Figure 7.1: Marital status of women committed for drunkenness, all summary areas, 1869-1875 177 Figure 7.2: Family size of women committed for drunkenness, all summary areas, 1869-1875 178 Figure 7.3: Age groups of women committed for drunkenness, and all other offences, all summary areas, 1869-1875 178 vii Figure 7.4: Number of female committals to local prisons by age group, England and Wales, all offences, 1869-1875 179 Figure 7.5: Age groups of women committed for drunkenness, Salford and Rochdale, 1869-1875 184 Figure 7.6: Number of women by age group, Salford and Rochdale, 1869-1875 185 Table 7.1: Average ages of women committed to Strangeways for drunkenness, Salford and Rochdale, 1869-1875 185 Figure 7.7: Committals for drunkenness, marital status by age group, Salford, 1869-1875 194 Figure 7.8: Marital status by age group, Salford, 1871 195 Figure 7.9: Committals for drunkenness, marital status by age group, Rochdale 1869-1875 195 Figure 7.10: Marital status by age group, Rochdale, 1871 196 Figure 7.11: Number of children of women committed for drunkenness, Salford and Rochdale, 1869-1875 210 Table 7.2: Average number of children of women committed for drunkenness, Salford and Rochdale, 1869-1875 210 Figure 7.12: Marital status in relation to number of children, Salford, 1869-1875 212 Figure 7.13: Marital status in relation to number of children, Rochdale, 1869-1875 212 Chapter 8: Occupations and Education Figure 8.1: Trade type of women committed for drunkenness, all summary areas, 1869-1875 220 Table 8.1: Trade type of women committed for drunkenness, all summary areas, 1869-1875 221 Table 8.2: Domestic trades of women committed for drunkenness, all summary areas, 1869-1875 222 Table 8.3: Trade types of women committed