History Nottingham Brewery

1 history

1.1 19th century
1.2 20th century
1.3 21st century

history

philip darby , niven balfour established brewery after selling remaining half of castle rock brewery co-owners tynemill in 2001. had established castle rock brewery under name bramcote brewery in 1996. after rapid expansion moved larger premises next vat & fiddle public house in 1998 , sold 50% tynemill, owners of vat & fiddle.

in 2001 philip , niven decided go alone once more , sold remaining share in castle rock tynemill. meanwhile, purchased plough public house in radford, nottingham , spent several months converting outbuildings ten barrel plant. plough had been owned older nottingham brewery , decided resurrect name , brands had become available use once more. original brewery had closed in 1952 after being taken on tennant brothers in turn bought out whitbread. in witbread s subsequent takeover interbrew names no longer owned brewing company , adopted 21st century revival.

19th century

the brewery situated @ 52/56 mansfield road, nottingham york house stands.the origins of brewery can traced @ least 1847 when james long listed east india , pale ale brewer on site. sold business in 1875 , after passing through several ownerships purchased in 1879 edward wheeler field.

the brewery became registered company in 1887 @ time recorded owning many public houses of several still standing. example:-

sun inn @ gotham
great northern @ langley mill
sir charles napier on north sherwood street, nottingham
old silk mill in derby
vernon hotel on vernon road in basford
highbury vale in bulwell
and, of course, plough in radford

in 1887 decided rebuild premises make 1 of best equipped in country. wm. bradford of carlton chambers in london designed handsome new building in grecian style. overall site occupied 21,000 sq. ft.

20th century

in 1900 wellow brewery company of messrs. lewis , barker acquired, along 19 tied houses. located on wellowgate in grimsby , continued operate until closed in 1944. after date site appears have operated depot company indicated on bottle label have uncovered.

nottingham brewery established city s main brewery, serving fine ales local citizens expanding estate of public houses. gained worldwide acclaim transporting gold medal winning india pale ale troops of british empire across globe. 2 brand names used , became known both inside city , further afield, maltanop , rock ales .

nottingham built on sandstone , beneath city honeycomb of caves. indeed, inhabitants of nottingham, snots (hence snottingham ) inhabited these caves (the caves of nottingham tourist attraction in broad marsh shopping centre provides more information , chance explore of caves). beneath brewery immense sandstone cellars used excellent storage location beers temperature never rose above ideal 56 degrees fahrenheit, of course name rock ales originated. when great central railway completed in late 1890s ran in deep cutting behind brewery new victoria station. in 1894 long tunnel built enable brewery link network of caves directly own sidings in station. facilitated direct transfer of casks , crates of bottles onto rail wagons, placing nottingham brewery @ hub of country s booming rail network , distributing beers far , wide.

the brewery continued flourish through first half of 20th century, , sold tennant brothers ltd. of exchange brewery, sheffield in 1944 along 150 pubs. bottling ceased in 1948 , brewing in may 1952. on 15 june 1956 nottingham brewery company formally wound up. deed of conveyance , assignment facilitate lists of assets of nottingham brewery including details of pubs , 29 page document can viewed clicking here

however after tennants had closed brewery bought whitbread brewed own brands there, name mackeson appearing on brewery tower, until site sold developers in 1960 , demolished. ironically, tennants swallowed whitbread in 1962, although exchange brewery on bridge street in sheffield survived eighties.

a concrete office block stands on site, although cellars beneath still remain. brewery tap rose of england still standing, right next york house. built in 1899 celebrated nottingham architect watson fothergill. replaced earlier brewery tap, filo da puta, named after 1815 st. ledger winner when translated means son of whore !

the 1960s saw marked change in beer market rise of large commercial breweries , increasing popularity of mass-produced lagers; nottingham brewery struggled maintain market share during time.

21st century

but things turn circle , whitbread became target of buy-out bigger fish interbrew of belgium. left name , brands of nottingham brewery available once again local brewers philip darby , niven balfour saw ideal chance give city brewing name , delving deep archives, have resurrected of fine brews gave nottingham beer proud of .