This drink map provides a fascinating historical representation of the social geography of the city from 1889. It is taken from the 'Moral Economy' display cabinet in our 'Mapping Manchester' exhibition.

The Drink Map of Manchester, 1889.
(Source: Manchester Geographical Society.)

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The moral city

Temperance reformers in the late Victorian period argued for a causal connection between poverty and the distribution of places where the demon drink could be purchased. A ‘rash’ of outlets are seen to cluster in the poorer parts of Manchester on the Drink Map. A tension between the pleasures of drink and its opposition to an ethos of propriety and hard work is mapped out. Alcohol consumption continues to evoke strong emotions, currently in connection with the effects of binge drinking, and mapping illustrates it to be a significantly greater problem in some parts of the contemporary city.

Statistical map of binge drinking, from
Manchester’s 2nd State of the Wards Report, 2007/2008
(Courtesy of the Manchester Partnership and Manchester City Council,
www.manchesterpartnership.org.uk)