On The Wagon

                           “On the Wagon”

You often hear the phrase “on the wagon” in conversation. It is usually a pithy reference to a now abstemious person who had previously been a practitioner of the “tippler’s way.” In other words, a person with a drinking problem that no longer drinks. But where did the phrase come from? There are many versions of its origin.

My favorite one originates in medieval London. For 650 years, convicted felons had been hung from Tyburn Tree, in central London. Tyburn, meaning ‘place of the elms’  was a village close to the current location of Marble Arch. It was so-called for its position adjacent to the Tyburn Brook, a tributary of the lost Westbourne River in London.

Tyburn’s ‘tree’ was in fact a wooden gallows, where criminals were hanged to death. The site, operational for over 650 years, became renowned as the principal location for public executions in London. Prisoners sentenced to death would begin their last day at Newgate Prison in the City. They’d then clamber onto horse and cart, to embark on a very public journey through St Giles in the Fields, down Oxford Street, before arriving at the Tyburn Tree – their final destination.

The custom at the time, was to stop at a convenient pub, some half-way between Newgate Prison and Tyburn Tree, to allow the doomed prisoner to have one final glass of ale, before he was unceremoniously dispatched into the netherworlds. Understandably, patrons of the pub would often propose that the prisoner be given an additional glass of ale before being hung.

The accompanying warders would then sternly advise that “no, the prisoner can’t have another glass of ale. He is “on the wagon” and headed for hanging. Official custom allowed but that one glass. From this practice, the phrase “on the wagon” became synonymous with the concept of not having or being allowed another glass of spirits.

So nowadays, when you hear someone is “on the wagon,” it just means that they won’t be having a glass of spirits. Whether or not, someone is going to hang them afterwards is always open to question.

                                                             -30-

                                                     (358 words)

                                                Joseph Xavier Martin