Sandy's Blog
State-owned Pubs in Cromarty
by Casagrandeblog - 14:42 on 15 April 2013
I'm blogging a day earlier than usual. That's because I'm off to Glasgow tomorrow to see Partick Thistle win promotion to the Premier League. (Hope that doesn't come back to haunt me!)
There were lots of interesting objects brought along to the first of our ‘Memories’ sessions last week in the Victoria Hall. One that really caught my eye was the wooden signboard that used to be above the doorway of the former Victoria Inn in Church Street (now The Gallery). It stated that the premises were ‘licensed to sell spirits and other excisable liquors’. 
This sparked off a couple of debates. First, was the Victoria a pub or just an off-sales? The answer seems to be that it was originally a pub and latterly only an ‘offie’. The second was about its time in state ownership, and when this came to an end. For anyone not familiar with the story, the Defence of the Realm (Liquor Control) Regulations 1915 brought into State ownership all licensed premises in Carlisle, Enfield, Gretna and the Cromarty Firth. Why? In the case of the first three, it was because they were centres for the manufacture of explosives and shells, employing very large numbers of workers - many of whom liked to get very drunk at the end of their shifts. In the case of Cromarty round to Invergordon via Dingwall, it was because here we had thousands of soldiers and sailors who were equally fond of a drink.
This was of great concern to the wartime Government. David Lloyd George said that drink was doing more damage to the war effort than all the German submarines put together.
The strange thing is that when the war was over, there was no pressure to return the premises to private ownership. Both Labour and Tory governments were content to leave this bit of nationalisation alone - right up to 1971 when Ted Heath’s government finally agreed to their privatisation. When the House of Commons debated the Bill, former Secretary of State Willie Ross (Labour) argued in vain that the 18 licensed premises in the Cromarty Firth State Management District should be handed over to the Highlands and Islands Development Board rather than being sold to private owners, and stated that he had the support of our local MP, the Conservative Hamish Gray.
I remember being in Cromarty in the summer of 1973 and talking to the man who had bought the Cromarty Arms from the State not long before. Can’t remember his name, but I’m sure someone else can. Maybe we could talk about this at our next ‘Memories’ session on Monday 29th April.
Add your comment
