"At their peak, nearly a third of England's temperance halls aimed at curbing the scourge of alcohol once stood in London - a statistic that says as much about Victorian drinking habits in the capital as it does about the scale of the movement that rose up to challenge them. And many of the survivors are "hidden in plain sight" with new names and functions."
"The temperance movement also created a parallel civic world. Millions signed the pledge to abstain from alcohol, and with that commitment came new buildings: halls for meetings, coffee taverns instead of pubs, billiards without beer, and even hospitals and insurance schemes restricted to teetotallers. For many Londoners in the late 19th century, it was possible to live almost entirely within an alcohol-free ecosystem."
"Some of the capital's most familiar buildings still bear the imprint of this forgotten campaign. The Old Vic, now synonymous with British theatre, began life in 1879 as the Royal Victoria Coffee Music Hall. Social reformer Emma Cons transformed the venue into a space offering what she called "purified entertainment" for working-class audiences, deliberately excluding alcohol. Today the Old Vic is Grade II listed, but its temperance origins are largely unknown to audiences filing in for a night's drama."
Nearly a third of England's temperance halls once stood in London, revealing the scale of abstinence efforts and the capital's heavy drinking culture. By 1853 more than 300 temperance halls existed nationwide, with over 90 in London, and at the movement's peak between 1880 and the First World War there were as many as 500 temperance hotels across England. The movement spawned an alcohol-free civic infrastructure: meeting halls, coffee taverns, billiard rooms without beer, hospitals, and insurance schemes for teetotallers. Many temperance buildings survive repurposed and recognizable examples include the Old Vic, originally the Royal Victoria Coffee Music Hall.
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