Rules and Regulations
Once spirits were allowed to be sold, then they needed to be controlled. Licenses were issued with more and more restrictions.
1637 - A law forbids "sack or strong water" to be sold at any ordinary, because it had been abused.
1638, March 12. Mr. Samuel Symonds is appointed to sell "strong water".
1644 - John Backronely sold wine.
1646 - The price of a license to retail "strong water", wine, and beer, at Ipswich, is two pounds.
1661 - Daniel Ringe received his license to keep an ordinary but "not to draw been above a penny a quart, and to provide meate for men and cattell."
In 1662 John Perkins, Andrew Peters and John Whipple were licensed, the last to sell not less than a quart at a time and none to be drunk in his house. All were bound "not to sell by retail to any but men of family and of good repute nor sell any after sun sett; and that they shall be ready to give account of what liquors they sell by retail, the quantity, time and to whom." The Whipple House, now known for its fine example of colonial architecture, thus escaped an early life as a tavern but did spend some time as a store.
The early Puritans saw the drink as a necessity but they tried to control all aspects including price. In 1634 innkeepers were restricted to a charge of 6d a meal.
1671, June 8. The town allow John Spark to draw beer at 1d. a quart. if he entertain no inhabitants in the night, "nor suffer any person to bring liquors to drink in his house, or wine."
1672 - An inhabitant. Because of his immorality, is ordered to be complained of, as unfit to sell liquors. Two men are forbidden to spend time and money, as they had done, in the ordinaries. Orders similar to this were long repeated afterwards.
1681, Feb 22. Ipswich is allowed two public houses.
The above is compiled from:
History of Ipswich, Essex, and Hamilton by Joseph Felt, published Cambridge, Charles Folsom, 1834.
Little Pilgrimages Among Old New England Inns by Mary Caroline Crawford, published Boston, L. C. Page & Co., 1907.