The Church Lawford and Kings Newnham branch of the Church of England Temperance society was formed in 1864. The movement was strong in both villages, with several village benefactors being involved, as well as the Church – with additional advice being offered in the Village Magazine, such as this offering in August 1893
“Drunkenness may be regarded as a disease caused by unhealthy conditions of life. To work all day in a vitiated atmosphere, to sleep in foul air at night, to be overworked or under-fed, must inevitably reduce the vital strength and create a desire for drink. Now we know that this state of things can be mended. The drinking class needs variety. Monotony and the want of amusement drives men to the public-house. They go there, in the first place, not so much to drink, as to meet their companions; and drinking is an accident of the situation. Suppose, then, great efforts were made to revise the laws against adulteration, so that if beer is to be drunk, it should be almost impossible to be served with the poison that is frequently sold under the name of beer. Another good step would be the multiplication of coffee-houses of an attractive kind. We want more of these. Then the working man is in sore need of recreation and amusement. To secure these things the total abstainer and the moderate drinker might work together. In the warfare against evil, earnestness and common-sense will prove in the long run more potent than fanaticism.”
The society, abbreviated to CETS held regular meetings, social evenings, concerts and outings, and these were reported in both the local press and the Village Magazine. The junior division of the movement was known as the “Band of Hope”.
Sample reports from the village magazines are as follows
A report from the Village Newsletter of January 1898.
The Rugby Advertiser also reported regularly on the C.E.T.S. Meetings – this one was in 1895
The Advertiser also reported on the C.E.T.S Outings – this one was in 1896 to Birmingham.
At the start of the twentieth century the King’s Newnham and Church Lawford industrial Show also featured contributions from the Society – discussed via this link. One show children’s category was “Why Do I Belong To The Band of Hope?”, with the local press reporting the winner in 1906 quoted a verse that ended:
“I think that every mother’s son,
And every father’s daughter,
Should drink at least till twenty-one
Just nothing but cold water.”