Curious.
Never heard that term before.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northeast/sites/askalocal/pages/hist6.shtml
"A Beer Act of Parliament in 1830 had introduced a total free market in the
selling of beer. Any citizen who paid two guineas (just over UK £2 sterling)
could turn his home into a beer shop. The shops, intriguingly known as 'Tom
and Jerry houses', led to a rapid rise in beer consumption and outbreaks of
drunkenness and riotous behavior. "
.dan.