Gin · History · Short entry
Gin Act of 1751
The 1751 Gin Act, drafted with the trade under Henry Pelham, restricted spirit retailing to rate-paying householders and raised duties moderately. Consumption fell sharply afterwards, though historians doubt the Act was the main cause.
25 June 1751
Licences at £2 a year, retail only by rent- and rate-paying householders, a moderate duty increase.
Why it mattered
A Commons committee blamed rising robbery and murder on gin; petitions came from London parishes and from Bristol, Manchester and Norwich.
The Act that 'worked'
In 1749 more than 17,000 gin shops were reported in London. Henry Pelham's government passed a new Act, dated by History Today to 25 June 1751, drafted with the main interests in the trade: licences cost £2 a year, only rent- and rate-paying householders could retail spirits, and duty rose moderately. Consumption fell from 8.5 million gallons in 1751 to 5.9 million in 1752 and 2.1 million by 1760.
Hanham notes that cheaper beer and a growing brewing industry also contributed. Warner and colleagues go further: the 1751 Act "succeeded by accident rather than by design", and consumption fell only after its harms had been widely experienced.
How it connects
Region
- event-in London
History
- related Hogarth's Gin Lane (1751)
- precursor-of Gin Act of 1736
Story
- related From juniper water to London gin
Continue exploring
- CountryUnited Kingdom97 entries in the atlas so far
- StoryFrom juniper water to London ginSchiedam, the Dutch genever town, Netherlands
- StoryA history of whiskyScotland, United Kingdom
- HistoryGin Act of 17361736
- HistoryHogarth's Gin Lane (1751)1 February 1751
- RegionLondonLondon, United Kingdom
IngredientJuniperJuniperus communis L. (EU law also allows J. oxycedrus for juniper-flavoured spirit drinks and genever)- RegionNetherlandsNetherlands
- StyleGeneverProtected name
- StyleLondon gin (London dry gin)Legal category