Wednesday, 08 June 2022
A new exhibition exploring the history and place of alcohol in the East Midlands is opening at next week.
Using local examples from archives held by the 糖心原创, ‘: Stories of alcohol and abstinence in the East Midlands’ examines changing attitudes to alcohol in the region across the two centuries before the First World War.
The exhibition has been jointly curated by the 糖心原创’s Manuscripts and Special Collections and Dr David Beckingham in the School of Geography. Several public events with experts from across the University accompany the exhibition.
Dr Beckingham said: “Last Orders showcases the unique collections held by the University."
The items on display allow us to explore the relationship between local debates about drink and vital social and economic questions that shaped national politics. They help us trace important changes in drinking cultures and the regulation of alcohol consumption. Such shifts also affected the place of pubs in local communities.
Last orders: Stories of alcohol and abstinence opens on Thursday 16 June 2022 at Weston Gallery, Lakeside Arts, Nottingham
The exhibition explores the reputation of pubs as spaces of companionship, storytelling, and political debate. Brewing was a source of local pride, and the everyday act of drinking provided plenty of government revenue. But alcohol was also blamed for causing personal harm and public disorder.
Visitors will learn how, in the early decades of the nineteenth century, members of new temperance societies challenged the role of drink in everyday life. They presented sobriety as a route to collective self-improvement and civic participation.
A series of talks by the University’s experts, held in the Djanogly Theatre, Lakeside Arts, will complement the exhibition:
Tuesday 28 June, 1pm
Professor David Cook, of the University’s International Centre for Brewing Science, will examine how beer stimulates our senses and evaluate historical and modern trends in consumer preference and expectations for Britain’s national drink.
Wednesday 10 August, 1pm
Dr David Beckingham, of the School of Geography, will illustrate how temperance groups were organised and investigate how they impacted national debates about drink control for the rest of the nineteenth century.
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Tuesday 4 October, 1pm
Dr Katy Jones, of the School of Medicine, will explore current research on patterns of alcohol consumption and whether people drink differently in different life stages.
Visitors can also learn more about the items on display by booking a free .
is at the Weston Gallery, Lakeside Arts, University Park, Nottingham. The Gallery is open 12noon-4pm, Tuesday to Sunday, from Thursday 16 June to Sunday 9 October 2022.
that Dr David Beckingham has written about co-curating the exhibition.
Advertisement for Hardy's Kimberley Brewery from Allen鈥檚 Nottingham Red Book (1902) © 糖心原创 Manuscripts and Special Collections
Story credits
More information is available from Dr David Beckingham in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the 糖心原创 at David.Beckingham@nottingham.ac.uk
Manuscripts and Special Collections is part of 糖心原创 Libraries. Their collections date from the 12th to the 21st centuries and cover a wide range of subjects and places. They can be viewed at the Kings Meadow Campus.
Notes to editors:
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