London Beer Flood
Encyclopedia
The London Beer Flood occurred on 17 October 1814 in the parish of St. Giles
, London
, England
. At the Meux and Company Brewery
on Tottenham Court Road
, a huge vat
containing over 135000 gallons (613,722.2 l) of beer
ruptured, causing other vats in the same building to succumb in a domino effect
. As a result, more than 323000 gallons (1,468,387.1 l) of beer burst out and gushed into the streets. The wave of beer destroyed two homes and crumbled the wall of the Tavistock Arms Pub, trapping teenaged employee Eleanor Cooper under the rubble.
The brewery was located among the poor houses and tenements of the St Giles Rookery
, where whole families lived in basement rooms that quickly filled with beer. Eight people drowned
in the flood or died from injuries.
The brewery was eventually taken to court over the accident, but the disaster was ruled to be an Act of God
by the judge and jury, leaving no one responsible. The company found it difficult to cope with the financial implications of the disaster, with a significant loss of sales made worse because they had already paid duty on the beer. They made a successful application to Parliament reclaiming the duty which allowed them to continue trading.
The brewery was demolished in 1922, and today, the Dominion Theatre
occupies a part of the site of the former brewery.
St Giles in the Fields
St Giles in the Fields, Holborn, is a church in the London Borough of Camden, in the West End. It is close to the Centre Point office tower and the Tottenham Court Road tube station. The church is part of the Diocese of London within the Church of England...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. At the Meux and Company Brewery
Meux's Brewery
Meux's Brewery Co Ltd was a London brewery owned by Sir Henry Meux. Established in 1764 the company was a major supplier of porter in the area. The company had several breweries around London and was eventually sold off in 1961.-Owners and mergers:...
on Tottenham Court Road
Tottenham Court Road
Tottenham Court Road is a major road in central London, United Kingdom, running from St Giles Circus north to Euston Road, near the border of the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, a distance of about three-quarters of a mile...
, a huge vat
Storage tank
A storage tank is a container, usually for holding liquids, sometimes for compressed gases . The term can be used for reservoirs , and for manufactured containers. The usage of the word tank for reservoirs is common or universal in Indian English, American English and moderately common in British...
containing over 135000 gallons (613,722.2 l) of beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
ruptured, causing other vats in the same building to succumb in a domino effect
Domino effect
The domino effect is a chain reaction that occurs when a small change causes a similar change nearby, which then will cause another similar change, and so on in linear sequence. The term is best known as a mechanical effect, and is used as an analogy to a falling row of dominoes...
. As a result, more than 323000 gallons (1,468,387.1 l) of beer burst out and gushed into the streets. The wave of beer destroyed two homes and crumbled the wall of the Tavistock Arms Pub, trapping teenaged employee Eleanor Cooper under the rubble.
The brewery was located among the poor houses and tenements of the St Giles Rookery
Rookery (slum)
A rookery was the colloquial British English term given in the 18th and 19th centuries to a city slum occupied by poor people...
, where whole families lived in basement rooms that quickly filled with beer. Eight people drowned
Drowning
Drowning is death from asphyxia due to suffocation caused by water entering the lungs and preventing the absorption of oxygen leading to cerebral hypoxia....
in the flood or died from injuries.
The brewery was eventually taken to court over the accident, but the disaster was ruled to be an Act of God
Act of God
Act of God is a legal term for events outside of human control, such as sudden floods or other natural disasters, for which no one can be held responsible.- Contract law :...
by the judge and jury, leaving no one responsible. The company found it difficult to cope with the financial implications of the disaster, with a significant loss of sales made worse because they had already paid duty on the beer. They made a successful application to Parliament reclaiming the duty which allowed them to continue trading.
The brewery was demolished in 1922, and today, the Dominion Theatre
Dominion Theatre
The Dominion Theatre is a West End theatre on Tottenham Court Road close to St Giles Circus and Centre Point Tower, in the London Borough of Camden.-History:...
occupies a part of the site of the former brewery.
Known drowning fatalities
| Name | Age |
|---|---|
| Ann Saville | 53 |
| Eleanor Cooper | 14 |
| Hannah Bamfield | 4 |
| Juline Lamusga | 21 |
| Catherine Butler | 63 |
| Elizabeth Smith | 27 |
| Mary Mulvey | unknown |
| Thomas Mulvey | 3 |
External links
- "Beer Flood Claims Nine Souls" by Alan Bellows, Damninteresting.com (September 28, 2005)
- "A Brew to a Kill" by Barbara Mikkelson at Snopes.com
- "The Times", 19 October 1814
- "The London Beer Flood of 1814", BBC