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A Brief History of the
Chesterfield Brewery Co. The Chesterfield Brewery stood at the junction of
Brewery Street and Brimington Road. It was planned as a major brewery from
its concept, whereas Chesterfield’s other breweries gradually grew from
small beginnings. The new company was set up in 1853 by the agents of the
Duke of Devonshire; Duke of Rutland and Mr Arkwright of Sutton Scarsdale.
Two acres of land were purchased on Durrant Meadow from the Duke of
Devonshire, building work commencing immediately. The structure was complete
by June 1854, with the brewing plant operational by September, the total
cost being £30,000. John Hirst
A Brief History of the
Scarsdale Brewery Co.
The first record of brewing on the site is in the 1840s whilst owned by George Mugliston’s son, Edward. Another son, Robert, was the licensee of the Vaults (ie. the public drinking area of a wine and spirit business). In 1865, after a change in ownership, a share issue was raised to form a new company, to be known for the first time as the Scarsdale Brewery Company. However, the brewery soon ran into trouble, as illegal dealings of a major shareholder resulted in bankruptcy in 1878. The business was then run by the liquidator until the bankruptcy case was resolved in 1885, when the concern was sold to Charles Armstrong for £9,100. His interest was short lived, as around three years later he sold the brewery to Mr Francis Stevenson. He built up the business, improved the brewing plant and purchased tied houses, however, ill health forced him to sell the business in 1895. The brewery was then owned by the first of three generations of the Birkin family. Thomas Isaac Birkin, a wealthy lace manufacturer from Nottingham, bought the business for £42,750. His son, Philip Austin Birkin, took over in 1919, and was responsible for the rebuilding of many of their tied houses. The last member of the family was Major Gerald Ivor, who ran the concern with his two sisters, Philippa and Beatrice. In 1957 when Major Birkin eventually decided to retire, negotiations were held to sell the brewery to the Mansfield Brewery Company, however, terms could not be agreed. The business was eventually sold in March 1958 to Whitbread’s of London, although Birkin kept 6 of his pubs, which he ran under the name of Scarcliffe Trading Company. After being taken over the brewery continued in operation for exactly a year before being closed, the reason given was that the Head Brewer was about to retire and the equipment was outdated. As Whitbread’s had no other brewery in the area at that time, trading agreements were made to supply beer to the 33 tied houses. Bitter was supplied by Wm Stones and mild by the Home Brewery. Six of the Scarsdale pubs were also sold to the Home Brewery. After closure the Scarsdale offices were used for a short time for administration, but the brewery was sold to the Borough Council in 1960 and demolished in 1961. The buildings on St. Mary’s Gate remain today, the offices are Grade II listed and after being derelict for many years are now restored and used again as offices. The old Scarsdale Vaults are now a carpet shop. The Scarsdale Brewery won many medals for the excellent quality of its ales, the top award being a Championship Gold Medal at the 1905 Brewers Exhibition in London. They produced a full range of ales on draught and in bottle, from the 120 barrel plant, normally brewing twice a week. The tied houses were spread over a large area from Sheffield to South Normanton (north to south) and from Retford to Eyam (east to west). The loss of small family breweries such as Scarsdale was commonplace at that time, due to lack of investment and war-time restrictions which prevented development and expansion. In some cases there was just no successor to continue the business. The brewery closure in 1959 brought an end to the long tradition of brewing in Chesterfield. John Hirst
Peak Ales Launched! Despite resident barn owls delaying the start of converting redundant former barn buildings on the Chatsworth Estate last year, building work was completed and the brew plant from Germany installed in the new year at the brewery site which is located between Baslow and Edensor.
Proprietor Rob Evans had been honing his brewing skills
working for Millstone Brewery (Oldham) and York
Brewery. The initial trial brews commenced on Monday 7th
February 2005 and the third brew was released for sale
to the public. The
official launch night was held in the Derby Tup,
Chesterfield on Sunday 20th February as part of local
Chesterfield CAMRA ‘Pubsweek’ celebrations when Rob
(pictured proudly serving the fruits of his labours) and
his family were on hand to celebrate the launch of his
4.2% ABV “Bakewell Best Bitter”. The George and Dragon
at Old Brampton also offered the beer and demand was
said to have been high. The other brew being produced is the 3.8%ABV “Swift Nick” (named after a notorious local highwayman) and it was launched on Friday 25th February - again in the Derby Tup, Chesterfield. The quality of both beers is excellent and a great future is anticipated for Derbyshire’s newest brewery.
Peak Ales, Nick Wheat
Abbeydale Brewery Trip It is sad to reflect on the fact that Abbeydale Brewery is arguably the largest working brewery in Sheffield. The city has a long and proud tradition of brewing and has been host to at least 70 major brewing operation in the last 200 years. This is not to take anything away from Abbeydale. Size is not everything, as they say, and Abbeydale produces beers the equal of anything produced by its more illustrious predecessors. The brewery stands in an old industrial complex close to the long closed Abbeydale Cinema, and has the advantage over other Sheffield Breweries that it has space to expand; which is exactly what it is doing. Current output is around 90 barrels per week and new brewing vessels are currently being installed which will allow this to increase. Abbeydale is perhaps unique in employing a Karcher industrial steam cleaner to provide the heat for the mash tuns. But not for long as a new boiler has arrived which will improve reliability and speed up the heating process.
Then it was off to the Sheaf View for a warm and a few more beers. Such was the navigational skills of our party that we arrived at the same time as the brewery staff who had locked up and walked. As usual the Sheaf View offered a large range of beers in top condition. It might have been a good deal warmer in the pub than it was at the brewery, but the beer, though still excellent value, was a great deal more expensive! On behalf of all those who went on the trip I would like to thank Richard and Cath for their generosity and hospitality. Nick Lister
A
Brief History of the Brampton Brewery Co. 
The Brampton Brewery was situated on
Chatsworth Road where the B&Q store now stands. The date when it was
established is unknown, although there was a brewery operating on the site
by 1839. In these early years there were numerous owners, often
partnerships, the company name changing with each new owner. In 1889, when
trading as C H Chater & Co the senior partner, Charles Hames Chater,
withdrew leaving the junior partner Harold Soames as the sole proprietor.
From then on it was to trade as the Brampton Brewery Co. When Mr Soames
retired in 1897, a Public Share Issue was raised to purchase the brewery
from him, together with 142 public houses owned or leased to the brewery.
John Hirst This webpage was last updated on Sunday, 07 October 2007 |
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Copyright © 1996 - 2007 Chesterfield & District CAMRA |
The
Scarsdale Brewery was situated on Spa Lane, behind the
buildings that front St. Mary’s Gate, between the
Phoenix Hotel (now Spa Lane Vaults) and Anchor Hotel
(now Chandlers). Its origins were a wine and spirit
merchants business on St. Mary's Gate. One owner, George
Mugliston, lived in a large house on St. Mary’s Gate,
which would later, for a time, become the Scarsdale
Hotel then the brewery offices.
Our
party arrived at 8pm and was greeted by Richard and
Cath, who immediately made us feel welcome with
complimentary beer. In fact the beer kept coming until
the visit ended, by which time much of range of beers
had been sampled. A quick look around the brewing
process and Roy presented Richard with the “Beer of the
Festival” award to “Stormbringer” - as voted for by the
punters at February’s Chesterfield Beer Festival in the
Winding Wheel.