What’s your poison?

Alan Gall

The use of arsenic in domestic prepara- a guinea to Dr Little for examination and tions has a long and interesting history. another 6 shillings for specs … no dis- It once featured prominently in everyday ease whatsoever in the eyes and advised life with applications ranging from cos- me to continue the use of arsenic for metics that damaged blood vessels scurvy.' Little did he know that ten years (favoured by prostitutes for inducing later the toxicity of an arsenic compound nice rosy cheeks) to cure-all quack would cause much anguish for fellow medicines. For example, a dilute solution brewers, and considerably more so for of potassium arsenite was commonly their unsuspecting customers. recommended as a tonic. Under the name of Fowler's Solution it sold from The first hint that something unusual was the 1780s until almost modern times. happening seems to have been noticed Charles Frederick Hyde, a brewer at sometime after June 1900 by Dr Ernest Chesters Brewery Company in Septimus Reynolds at the Manchester, noted in his diary for 16th Workhouse Infirmary. There, a number of January 1890: 'Went to the city and paid patients were admitted with very similar

Figure 1. Arsenic based tonic advertised by James Woolley & Co Ltd in 1911

Brewery History Number 128 49 symptoms in varying degrees; paralysis such a product when it should have been of the limbs, change of skin colour, loss of obvious than a pure acid was necessary. memory and cirrhosis of the liver. Incompetence seemed the likely answer, Alarmingly, the number of cases began to as there was no significant commercial increase significantly towards the end of gain to be had from buying the slightly the year. The localities particularly affect- cheaper version. ed were the Manchester districts of Ancoats, , and ; also Sulphuric acid can be manufactured Ashton Old (and New) Road, and Lower either by the lead-chamber process or Broughton in Salford. At first the symp- the contact process. The lead-chamber toms were puzzling, until Dr Reynolds method was the version exclusively in arrived at the correct conclusion - they use by British producers at the time that were all suffering from arsenic poisoning, Nicholson & Son operated. There were and this had come from drinking beer. four principle sources for the sulphur dioxide required in the process: sulphur, Breweries had been promoting the idea iron pyrites, zinc sulphide and 'spent that beer, if drunk in moderation, was oxide' from gas works. Arsenic-free acid good for health. 'Beer can kill you' was could be made directly using suitable clearly an undesirable message to be sulphur (such as that mined in Sicily) but sending out to consumers, so the the main raw material used was the more Manchester Brewers Central Association abundant iron pyrites, found in combi- quickly commissioned a report by a team nation with arsenic. The resulting product of experts. James Niven, Manchester's from Nicholson's works, if sent out un- Officer of Health, also began compiling purified, contained around 2% of the his own report. contaminant, measured as arsenious acid. Bostock's chemist failed to recog- The brewery-sponsored commission nise that something had changed in the reported back on 15th December 1900. quality of the sulphuric and so it was used Having examined all the basic ingredi- to invert sucrose to 'brewer's sugar' with ents used at the local breweries (apart tragic consequences. from, apparently, malt) the finger of blame pointed firmly at a manufacturer in There was even some suspicion that Liverpool called Bostock & Company, Bostocks has allowed the same thing to who had supplied contaminated brewing happen before, perhaps from about sugar. During the production of invert 1896, but at contamination levels too low sugar, they had used an arsenic-contain- to be obvious. ing sulphuric acid bought from John Nicholson & Son, a chemical manufactur- Unable to prosecute the suppliers er in Leeds. The commissioners were at directly, Manchester Council decided to a loss to explain why Bostocks would use punished the pub landlords, saying: 'The

50 Journal of the Brewery History Society Sanitary Committee were, moreover, ing alternatively the use of their arms and able to secure a number of convictions legs and have shown dropsical tenden- against retail dealers, which was the only cies. In one case the sufferer turned the vindication of the law open to us'. The colour of a mulatto, whilst his skin is Sale of Food and Drugs Act of 1875 pro- scaling off.' vided the legislation for legal proceed- ings. Without access to the original information on the origin of the beer samples, it is Employees of some breweries (especial- difficult to name all the breweries that ly those who made full use of their beer sold the arsenical beer. Some can be allowance) were particularly at risk. identified from newspaper reports: Nearly the whole workforce at one of Richard Seed & Co of Radcliffe, Groves Manchester's larger concerns showed and Whitnall of Salford, Hamer's Brewery symptoms of the poisoning. 'For some of Bromley Cross, North Cheshire time the men have been affected by los- Brewery Company of Macclesfield,

Figure 2. If local legend is true, brewers Groves & Whitnall dumped contaminated beer into the River Irwell.

Brewery History Number 128 51 Threllfalls of Liverpool and Salford. It is ing sales. Alarm even reached London, known from a published company history although the News of the World was able that the Cornbrook Brewery (which stood to reassure its readers that 'Those who on Chester Road in Manchester) was quench their thirst in the City may rest also one to suffer. Others were able to assured that they have a competent boast that they had received a clean bill guardian in Dr Sedgwick Saunders.' The of health. Boardman's brewery of good doctor had arranged for the local Ancoats, for one, proclaimed their beers brews to be tested and was quoted as to be arsenic free because they used saying: 'The samples we have obtained only malt and hops without any added we shall examine, but in relation to the brewing sugar. Two Ormskirk based prospective result it may at once be brewers sent samples of beer to the West explained that, for the greater part, City Drayton Laboratories for analysis and beers are supplied by the better class of their initiative was rewarded with an brewers.' upsurge in sales when drinkers were assured of a safe product. Clearly, trade The government reacted to public con- would have been badly damaged for cern by appointing a Royal Commission those who had used Bostock's sugars that sat at the Westminster Palace Hotel and in addition there was the consider- in London. All the investigative work able quantity of beer that must have had been done by others but the ended up down the drain. Having said Commissioners dutifully interviewed that, the local brewers managed to weath- those 'on the ground' to provide material er the storm. There were approximately for their report. It emerged from the testi- 35 breweries in Salford & Manchester at mony of James Niven that at least 2000 the start of 1900 and two years later it was cases of poisoning had occurred in his much the same figure. 1903 saw a few area over the previous six months. take-overs and closures but other factors may have been involved. A report by Salford's Medical Officer of Health in 1901 included some observa- The effects of the incident were not con- tions made by Dr Reynolds about the fined to the south of . At effect of arsenic poisoning on the mental Market Drayton one company decided to state of the victims. 'Thus a totally paral- dump 25000 gallons of beer and in the ysed patient who has been in bed for city of Chester 500 barrels were emptied weeks when asked if he has not been for into the sewers by another firm. In their a walk this morning will say that he has … annual report for 1901 the Burton and when asked about yesterday will per- Brewery Company, whose trading area haps say with a little prompting that he covered mainly Derbyshire, Staffordshire has been to the seaside.' It would seem and Leicestershire, blamed a loss of cus- that our Dr Reynolds was not averse to tomer confidence as one factor in declin- some light entertainment by making

52 Journal of the Brewery History Society improbable suggestions to his deluded reputedly flushed hundreds of gallons of patients. beer into the murky water.

One problem that investigators faced dur- ing the early stages of the outbreak was Note the lack of consensus regarding the best method for accurately determining I have used the spellings sulphur, sul- arsenic concentrations. At Professor phide and sulphuric throughout. The Delepine's laboratory in Manchester, current I.U.P.A.C. recommendation is to Reinsch's test was adopted in preference use sulfur, sulfide and sulfuric and these to Marsh's or Fleitmann's, two other forms have now been adopted by the methods available before all such tech- Royal Society of Chemistry. The old niques were rendered obsolete by mod- spelling seems more appropriate for ern instrumentation. The Reinsch test historical work. involved depositing a film of arsenic on copper foil by boiling the beer with hydrochloric acid. Arsenic crystals were Sources deposited inside a tube by sublimation from the copper foil. A comparison was The poisoning epidemic was reported in then made under a microscope with the many local and national newspapers dur- deposits formed from standard concen- ing 1900-1901. I have consulted several trations. of these reports in conjunction with trade directories. Other sources are as listed. Following the outbreak, there was much talk about legislation to control the ingre- Brunton, L. et. al. (1901) 'Arsenic in beer. dients used in brewing. Of course, noth- Report of the Commission to the Manchester ing happened. Dr Reynolds subsequent- Brewers' Central Association.' The Analyst, ly received recognition as the first person 26, pp. 13-15 to identify the nature of the poison after Chapman, A.C. (1901) 'The detection of writing a detailed paper for the Lancet, arsenic in beer and brewing materials', The published January 19th, 1901. The Analyst, 26, pp. 8-10 Chairman of Watney's brewery, Henry Tattersall, C.H. (1901) Special Report on an Cosmo Bonsor, got to sit on the Royal epidemic of arsenical poisoning from beer in Commission with such luminaries as Lord 1900. County Borough of Salford Kelvin, Sir W.S. Church, President of the Royal College of Physicians, and the Thanks are due to Sue Hyde Fielding for Government Analyst, Professor T.E. the quote from her grandfather's diary Thorpe. The fishes in the River Irwell at and to Tim Ashworth of Salford Local Salford were given a supplement to their History Library for the picture of Groves & diet when Groves & Whitnall's brewery Whitnall.

Brewery History Number 128 53