Licensing Act 1872 restricts pubs and public drunkenness
Poet involved
What happened
The Licensing Act 1872 regulated alcohol premises, restricted closing times, and created offences around drunkenness in public places. It was enforced by police and was unpopular among many working-class drinkers. The act showed how drink had become a national political question.
Literary impact
The Licensing Act of 1872 restricts pubs and public drunkenness, standing behind the late Victorian literary contrast between freedom, pleasure, police, and respectability. Poets like A.E. Housman and Thomas Hardy inherited a pub culture already shaped by law, exploring the complexities of leisure and social class in their works.
Source: Wikipedia
