York Distillery · Interactive sculpture · Gin history
Puss & Mew
A two-foot-tall sculpture that actually dispenses gin, Puss & Mew lives at York Distillery and has a story that stretches back nearly three hundred years. The work was created by York sculptor Jonathan Newdick, unveiled at a ceremony attended by the Sheriff of York, and is believed to be the only working example of its kind anywhere in the country since the Georgian era.
An original wooden Puss & Mew is on display at the Beefeater Gin Museum in London. Ours works.
Year of the original Gin Act
1736
Newdick making sculpture
Almost 50 years
Working examples in the country
Only one
The gin it serves
York Gin Old Tom
Location
Skeldergate, YO1 6DS
Sculptor
Jonathan Newdick RBSS
Gin history
The Georgian loophole that gave gin a new form
During the 1730s, Britain was in the grip of the Gin Craze. The consumption of gin had reached levels that caused widespread moral panic, and in 1736 Parliament passed the Gin Act to restrict its sale. Gin sellers required expensive licences, and the penalties for flouting the law were severe.
One inventive individual, Captain Dudley Bradstreet, found a loophole. He installed a cat-shaped wooden sign on the outside of his building. A gin drinker would approach and whisper "Puss puss..." asking whether gin was available. If the answer was yes, they would hear a cat's "Mew" from inside. The buyer slipped a coin into the cat's mouth, and a measure of gin was poured through a pipe hidden in the cat's paw into a waiting cup held below.
By serving the public anonymously, Bradstreet avoided identification, and the police did not have authority to enter the building.
This simple mechanism is widely considered to be the world's first vending machine. The original Puss & Mew turned a crack in the law into something playful, secretive, and entirely practical. That same spirit of ingenuity and mischief forms the conceptual backbone of Jonathan Newdick's sculpture at York Distillery.
How it works
Step up to the cat
Jonathan Newdick's Puss & Mew works exactly as the original did. Visitors are invited to try it and reimagine the experience of an 18th Century gin drinker outwitting the law.
Step 01
Approach
Step up to the sculpture. Notice the mischievous look on the cat's face. "Slightly nervous, slightly intrigued" is how the sculptor describes it.
Step 02
Deposit your coin
Slip a coin into the slot in the cat's mouth, just as Georgian Londoners did nearly three centuries ago.
Step 03
Listen for the bell
A bell rings behind the sculpture: a nod to the cat's "Mew" that told a buyer gin was available.
Step 04
Receive your gin
A measure of York Gin's Old Tom flows from a pipe in the cat's paw into your waiting glass below.
Craft and materials
Built to last and to work
Creating a functional sculpture presented challenges Jonathan Newdick had not previously encountered in a career spanning nearly 50 years. Puss & Mew is the first piece he has made that contains a mechanism, produces sound, and delivers a measured pour of liquid. It is also the first of his works designed to be physically handled by the public.
The sculpture is made using cold-cure patinated bronze and Jesmonite, mounted on a teak base. It is engineered with longevity and repeated public interaction in mind, combining traditional craftsmanship with hidden mechanical elements.
"It's been quite challenging because of its function. It's the first time I've created a sculpture which also has a mechanism. It makes a sound and delivers a measure of gin. That took a bit of skill and a bit of luck." Jonathan Newdick, sculptor
"You get a bit of a feeling like when you approach any cat. Slightly nervous, slightly intrigued. There's a sense of mystery to it, and the mischievous look on its face is challenging you to have another nip!" Jonathan Newdick, sculptor
The gin it serves
York Gin Old Tom
Puss & Mew is traditionally used with York Gin's Old Tom: a style closely associated with the 18th Century Gin Craze era that inspired the original cat machine. Slightly sweeter than a contemporary London Dry and a fitting choice for a sculpture that serves as both working art and a piece of living gin history.
Explore our gins & spirits for saleYork's cat trail
Part of York's mystery cats
Around 50 feline sculptures watch over York's buildings, placed there over decades by Jonathan Newdick. Thousands of visitors follow the trail each year. Puss & Mew continues that tradition, adding gin history to one of the city's best-loved walking routes.
The Mystery Cats of YorkWhen to visit
Trying the Puss & Mew
The sculpture is accessible to visitors at York Distillery when experiences and classes are not in session. The best way to guarantee you meet the cat is to book one of our gin tasting sessions, where trying Puss & Mew is part of the experience.
Address. Skeldergate, York YO1 6DS
Book a session
Try Puss & Mew at our gin tastings
Guests at our gin tasting sessions get to experience Puss & Mew first-hand as part of the session. Meet the cat, hear the full history, and receive your own measure of Old Tom the Georgian way.
Book a gin tasting