100-YEARS-AGO: SALFORD WOMEN IN COURT ACCUSED OF DRINKING METHYLATED SPIRITS

The, Before The Bench pages in the defunct Salford City Reporter was often the first page many readers turned to, and why? because the names and addresses of the people in the dock were published and it was a tradition to scan the page in the hope of finding a name they knew.

The stories were more often than not of men, drunk and arguing with the odd passer-by, publicans, policeman and other trades beginning with the letter P and the felons were not always men as the following story from April 1922 shows,

Detective Sergeant Blakeley told a shocked court that women in Salford were drinking methylated spirits when the pubs had shut and acting in a shocking manner not becoming a woman...

Margaret Wilson who lived in Islington Square appeared before the court charged with being drunk on Chapel Street, Constable Dentith said that he saw her drunk at 10 minutes past six on Monday evening and that she had been drinking methylated spirits, she was taken to Chapel Street police station.

In her defence she said she was upset that her son had joined the army and had kept off the drink for several months.

Sergeant Blakeley was in charge when she was brought in, and he considered her to be very drunk and smelt of methylated spirits, which she denied, he added that she had six previous convictions the last occasion was a year ago.

Mrs Wilford a Probation Officer explained that Margaret was a war widow with four children and received a pension of £2 and four shillings a week.

The Magistrate told her that the pension money wasn't for getting drunk on and if you do, you risk losing it, she asked for leniency and was told if she appeared before him again, he would see to it she would lose the pension and bound her over for 12 months to keep the peace.

Next up was Mary Courtney  who "appeared dazed" in the dock who had been found drunk in Dudley Street, Broughton.

The Magistrate said that she wasn't fit to plead and remanded her in custody for a week, it was pointed out to him that she had a permanent address in Fildes Street, Broughton, he fined her 10 shillings.

The last to appear was Mary Cartwright of Islington Square who was charged with being drunk and disorderly on Chapel Street.

Constable Matthews said that he saw Mary dancing to the tune of a barrel organ on New Bailey Street, he told her to move on, and was then seen dancing around a group of people on Chapel Street, when he tried to take her into custody she became violent and threw herself to the ground, in her possession was a bottle that had once contained methylated spirits.

Inspector Mitchell said that Mary had 15 previous convictions for being drunk, the last occasion being six months ago.

She was fined 15 shillings or 21 days in prison.

I have heard many stories about people drinking methylated spirits but mainly men, it is Ethanol and has terrible side effects one being presumably death, a cheap way of getting drunk and numbing your sorrows I suppose, a sad choice for many people though.