Hot Off The Press – New Pages This Week

This week at The Archive we’re delving into the history of prohibition across Scotland and its impact on local distilleries. As well as exploring a time when parts of Scotland went dry for a bit longer than just the month of January, we’ve added 74,458 brand new pages to The Archive, as well as updating twelve titles from across England, Scotland and the Isle of Man.

So read on to discover which of our titles we have updated this week, and to learn about prohibition in Scotland in the 20th century.

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Our Updated Titles

We’ve updated twelve of our already existing titles on The Archive this week, from all over the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man. Among these are four Scottish publications, ranging all the way from Edinburgh and Fife to Invergordon and John o’ Groats.

John o’ Groat Journal | 11 January 1957

One of these titles is the John o’ Groat Journal. Founded all the way back in 1836, this weekly Liberal title circulated throughout Wick, Thurso, Kirkwall, Stromness, Lerwick, Helmsdale, Golspie, Dornoch, Tain and the ‘four northern counties’ of Scotland. Now fondly known as ‘The Groat,’ and still published today, the John o’ Groat covers the Caithness area, which comprises of the most northern part of mainland Britain. We’re delighted to welcome pages from 1957 to 1993 from this wonderful title to our collection this week.

Wakefield Express | 3 October 1986

Our biggest update over the last seven days is to the Wakefield Express, to which we’ve added over 29,860 brand new pages. This weekly Yorkshire newspaper was founded in 1852 and was also Liberal in its politics. The paper, which switched from broadsheet to tabloid form in 2007, is still running to this day.

Furthermore, we’ve added from 1901 all the way until 1917 to the Exeter Flying Post, as well as adding new pages to one of our titles from the Isle of Man, the Isle of Man Daily Times.

Exeter Flying Post | 16 March 1901

The Reopening of Pulteney Distillery

On Friday 14 September 1951, one of this week’s updated titles, John o’ Groat Journal, published one man’s thoughts on the re-opening of the Pulteney Distillery. Originally opened by James Henderson in 1826, the distillery was in steady operation for over a century. It was required to close in 1930 following a decline in trade, brought about by the enforcement of prohibition in Wick, the largest herring fishing port in Europe at the time. Attempts to curb drunkenness in areas of Scotland lead to a prohibition that would last eleven years longer than in the United States.

Pulteney Distillery was far from the only business affected by enforced bans, as according to the John o’ Groat Journal issue from 29 April 1932, ‘Thirty-two distilleries in Scotland were closed throughout the last whisky distilling season…’

John o’ Groat Journal | 07 September 1951

Prohibition was pointed towards Glasgow, a city with one pub for every 160 people, but reached the very top of Scotland too. Thanks to the newspapers of the time, we can see the multiplicity of cultural attitudes towards alcohol mirrored in the opinions of their writers.

The below article advocates for ‘all kinds of industrial and beneficent uses’ provided by the production of alcohol within the distillery, but strictly admonishes personal consumption of whisky. Alcohol, according to the narrative imposed by prohibition attitudes, was not only ‘harmful to the human system’ but was also considered the highest degree of ‘social evil’. Such comments echo the sentiments of many on the drinking of alcohol in Post-War society that extends beyond our understanding of American prohibition.

John o’ Groat Journal | 14 September 1951

Despite local government attempts to quell excessive drinking, strict enforcement began to dismantle itself when it became clear that people were seeking other, creative ways to obtain alcohol. By the mid 1930s, the inevitability of the ban had long since revealed itself, and many pubs were allowed to open for business once again. The re-opening of small businesses was welcomed by the tight-knit community in Wick, and the supporting of economic growth in the area was crucial in representing the reclamation of pride after the impact of the Second World War.

John o’ Groat Journal | 07 September 1951

Find out more about the re-opening of Pulteney Distillery, the impact of closure on multiple distilleries across Scotland and much more besides in the pages of our Archive today.

The Scotsman | 7 December 2002

Updated Titles

This week we have updated twelve of our existing titles. 

You can learn more about each of the titles we add to every week by clicking on their names. On each paper’s title page, you can read a free sample issue, learn more about our current holdings, and our plans for digitisation. 

You can keep up to date with all the latest additions by visiting the recently added page.  You can even look ahead to see what we’re going to add tomorrow.