Record Number: 1554

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

Evidence to Parliamentary Committee from Rev. Thomas Spencer, a Church of England clergyman: "I was appealed to in the parish of which I was incumbent for 22 years, by the wife and children of a man who was coming home drunk very frequently and I went to speak to him and he said, 'I tell you, Sir, I never go to the public house for beer, I go for the news; I have no other way of getting it; I cannot afford to pay the five pence, but unfortunately I go on drinking till I have spent a shilling, and I might as well have bought the paper in the first instance; still, that is my reason, my only reason for going to the public house; I hear people read the paper and say what is going on in London, and it is the only place where I get the news.'"

Century:

1800-1849

Date:

Between 1 Jan 1830 and 31 Dec 1849

Country:

England

Time

evening

Place:

other location: public house

Type of Experience
(Reader):
 

silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

Type of Experience
(Listener):
 

solitary reactive unknown
single serial unknown

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Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Listener:

anon

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

n/a

Socio-Economic Group:

Labourer (non-agricultural)

Occupation:

unknown

Religion:

Church of England

Country of Origin:

n/a

Country of Experience:

England

Listeners present if any:
e.g family, servants, friends

other drinkers -working men in the public house

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

Title:

n/a

Genre:

Ephemera

Form of Text:

Print: Newspaper

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

borrowed (other)
newspaper of the public house

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Source Information:

Record ID:

1554

Source - Manuscript:

Other

Information:

Parliamentary Papers, Select Committee on Newspaper Stamps [Commons] 1851 (facsimile edition, Irish University Press, Shannon, 1969), p. 352

Additional Information:

n/a

Citation:

Parliamentary Papers, Select Committee on Newspaper Stamps [Commons] 1851 (facsimile edition, Irish University Press, Shannon, 1969), p. 352, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=1554, accessed: 15 January 2025

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Additional Comments:

None