North Wales Temperance Union Records,

Papers relating to the 1961 and 1968 Sunday opening referenda, including correspondence, 1958-1969, between Alwyn Thomas and politicians and various temperance-related organizations; copies of Alliance News, pamphlets and other printed matter, 1960-1968; posters, 1961-[1968]; press cuttings, 1961-[1968]; financial records, 1969; and other miscellaneous papers, 1961. A further donation was received August 2014. These papers remail uncatalogued.

The Welsh Sunday Closing Act 1881 required all public houses in Wales to close on Sunday; in 1921, it was extended to cover Monmouthshire. It was supported by nonconformists but the merits of its operation were widely debated. The Licensing Act 1961 gave Welsh districts the right to vote on whether they desired the Sunday opening of public houses, with subsequent polls to be taken in 'dry' areas every seven years. The North Wales Temperance Union was formed to uphold the closure of licensed premises on Sundays. The success of the campaigns was limited; eight of the fifteen counties and county boroughs remained 'dry' in 1961, with only five remaining 'dry' in 1968. The Rev. Alwyn Thomas, as well as being Secretary of the North Wales Temperance Union, served as the Honorary Secretary for the northern division of the Temperance Council of the Christian Churches of Wales.

Arranged into the following: correspondence; miscellaneous papers; printed material; miscellaneous pamphlets; posters; press cuttings (1961 campaign); correspondence; financial records; and printed material (1968 campaign).

Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to sign the 'Modern papers - data protection' form.

Deposited by the North Wales Temperance Union, per the Rev. Alwyn Thomas, General Secretary, Colwyn Bay, 1974, and an additional group donated by Mrs Carys Pritchard (Rev. Alwyn Jones's daughter), Isle of Anglesey, August 2014..

The Welsh Sunday Closing Act 1881 required all public houses in Wales to close on Sunday; in 1921, it was extended to cover Monmouthshire. It was supported by nonconformists but the merits of its operation were widely debated. The Licensing Act 1961 gave Welsh districts the right to vote on whether they desired the Sunday opening of public houses, with subsequent polls to be taken in 'dry' areas every seven years. The North Wales Temperance Union was formed to uphold the closure of licensed premises on Sundays. The success of the campaigns was limited; eight of the fifteen counties and county boroughs remained 'dry' in 1961, with only five remaining 'dry' in 1968. The Rev. Alwyn Thomas, as well as being Secretary of the North Wales Temperance Union, served as the Honorary Secretary for the northern division of the Temperance Council of the Christian Churches of Wales.

Title supplied from contents of fonds

A hard copy of the catalogue is available at the National Library of Wales.

March 2003

Compiled by Rhys Jones for the ANW project. The following source was used to compile this description: National Library of Wales, Catalogue of The North Wales Temperance Union Papers; Morgan, Kenneth O., Rebirth of a Nation: Wales 1880-1980 (Oxford and Cardiff, 1981).

Usual copyright regulations apply

Action: All records deposited at the National Library of Wales have been retained..

Accruals are not expected.

Further papers relating to the temperance movement are National Library of Wales, Temperance Movement in Wales; South Wales Women's Temperance Union (Undeb Dirwest Merched y De); Gwynedd Archives, Caernarfon Record Office, Undeb Dirwestol Merched Gogledd Cymru (North Wales Women's Temperance Union).

Published

Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru = The National Library of Wales