Tavern bill dated 30th July 1767

Category

Museums & Galleries Item

Item no

52344

Title

Tavern bill dated 30th July 1767 from an un-specified Edinburgh tavern

Description

One tavern bill dated 30th July 1767 from an un-specified Edinburgh tavern for the amount of '1-1-2. Handwritten on a piece of paper in ink, with details of payee and payer. Includes the acknowledgement of receipt ; 'Edi 1 Aug 1767 Reid the @ one point one shilling + 2d from Mr John Young treasurer to the Guild Court [signed Thos Mires [?]'. On the reverse is written ; 'Bill in Avalons Leith with the D. G. Deacon Dikieson'. Items paid for ; 'punch; '0-3-0, wine; '0-12-0, bread & [brom]; '0-1-0., coachman & cadie; '0-1-0, broken glass; '0-0-6, drawer; '0-0-2, coach 5/6 paid for the party [ﾅ] [indes]; '0-3-6. '. A handwritten number 5 is marked on the paper, perhaps as a later addition for bookkeeping purposes.

Type

Document; Paper

Accession number

SH.2011.191.16

Copyright

The City of Edinburgh Council Museums & Galleries

Taverns in 18th century Edinburgh were a focus for socialising, business and dining. The development of the Old Town’s high buildings meant all levels of society lived together, and this was also the case in the taverns.

Museums & Galleries Edinburgh have a collection of tavern bills from the 1700s which give us an insight into what people ate and drank, but also how much it all cost. It seems beer, wine and ale were the preferred drinks. Beer was probably a light drink, served with bread much like we serve water and bread today. Ale was the heavier drink. Wine was almost entirely claret, a type of red imported from Bordeaux in France, although some of these bills also list fortified wines from Portugal (known as Lisbon, but probably resembling Port).

The food listed in these bills is varied, but often list spinach and eggs, oysters, and bread as staples. These were all readily available in the farms, fields and seas around Edinburgh.

The taverns provided other services, and we see listed coaches and caddies. Coaches were sedan chairs, a type of covered litter carried on wooden poles by two porters. Horse drawn carriages would have been no use on the Old Town’s uneven streets, narrow wynds and steep closes. Caddies were Edinburgh’s eyes and ears. Originally formed as messenger boys, the caddies quickly knew everyone’s business. They were often relied on as sources of information, and little happened in the city without them knowing.

The taverns in the 18th century were the meeting places of all sorts of thinkers, scientists, artists and writers. At the height of the Enlightenment in Edinburgh, some of these taverns became centres for like-minded men, and over time these groups became formalised clubs. Some, like the Royal Scottish Academy, became major institutions, while others, such as the Revolution Club or the Cape Club, remained little understood ‘secret’ societies.

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