Bohemia Village Voice

Merrick House – written by Vic Chalcraft

David Russell’s article on Merrick House as a Temperance Pub is interesting, though in a way not surprising as in the late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds, temperance was a big thing.

Many churches were involved, running such childrens’ groups as “The Band of Hope” where children had to sign the pledge to join, also the Salvation Army fought the battle against the demon drink. It must have been world-wide as you had prohibition in America, and St. Matthews Church had the Temperance Queen of New Zealand in the early 1920s.

What would these campaigners have made of today? As for Merrick House, after being a Police station it became a print shop, printing souvenir handkerchiefs and the like. The proprietor was a Mr Jack Leighton, a highly thought-of councillor.

Vic Chalcraft, Aldborough Road.

[Originally published 2010 as a letter to the editor]