Mansfield Brewery

Mansfield Brewery was a brewery and public house operating company, based in the North Nottinghamshire market town of Mansfield, England. Established in 1855, after being taken over by Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries in 1999, the brewing of the branded beers was moved to Wolverhampton in 2002, where it continues today under the control of Marston's. The former brewery site was until 2018 still vacant awaiting redevelopment. A section previously used informally as an articulated-lorry trailer park was refused retrospective planning consent in late August 2015.[1] Work started in 2019 to transform the brownfield site into a mixed residential development.[2]

The original Mansfield Brewery offices, April 2004

History

In 1855, brewer John Watson of Sheffield formed a partnership with farmer Samuel Hage of Whitewater, Ollerton, and investor William Edward Baily, of Mansfield. The partners bought land at Littleworth to build a brewery. However, in 1856 Watson sold his shares to the other two partners.[3] To support their business, the partners established a malting facility in 1863.[3]

In 1873 Addison Titley bought into the business, followed in 1885 by William Jackson Chadburn, Baily's brother-in-law, who became the dominant owning partner.[3] By 1901, the firm leased 72 licensed premises, from public houses to hotels, as well as numerous off licences, resulting in the rebuilding of the main brewery in 1907.[3]

After W.J. Chadburn's death in 1922, from February 1925 the business became the private limited liability company The Mansfield Brewery Company Ltd. After acquiring the Chesterfield Brewery in 1934, in 1935 the company became publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange.[3]

After World War II, the company acquired Hornby's soft drink distributors in 1955, TW Beach in 1980, and North Country Breweries (formerly Hull Brewery) of Humberside for £42m in 1985 (equivalent to £128,190,000 in 2019)[4], including 212 tied houses. By 1987, the company was operating a total of 420 licensed premises,[3] and was one of the area's largest employers.

The main beer brewed was Mansfield Bitter, along with other popular brands including Riding Bitter, Marston Old Baily, and Marksman Lager. The brewery also boasted a large array of seasonal beers, including the "Deakins" range.

Part of the demolition site showing the chimney

In 1999 the company was taken over by Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries, which quickly moved production to the Park Brewery in Wolverhampton.[5] This affected the distinct flavour of the Mansfield beers which was due to the using local hard water. With the instantly lost distinct flavour sales began to fall quickly. Brewing at Mansfield, which had been wound down after the takeover, resulted in the closure of the brewery in 2002.

The site was cleared by demolition contractors the Cuddy Group in late 2008,[6] with many local residents feeling that the destruction of the brewery's brick chimney by twelve explosive charges brought to an end part of the town's cultural heritage, and officially marked the end of brewing in Mansfield. There were few feelings of nostalgia from Councillor Kate Allsop who stated: "I have to say I was pleased to see the chimney finally come down. It’s been an eyesore for such a long time".[6]

The land on which the brewery once stood was immediately put up for sale. In 2008, Mansfield District Council released blueprints, showing plans to develop the area in a mixed-use scheme, including offices, leisure facilities and residential developments.[7] As of 2018, the site was still undeveloped and being marketed for commercial use,[8] but work started in 2019 to transform the brownfield site into a mixed residential development with some completion anticipated by 2020.[2]

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References
  1. Mansfield District Council Planning Decision 27 August 2015 Retrieved 2015-09-01
  2. Take a look as work starts at Mansfield Brewery's former site Chad, 12 February 2019. Retrieved June 2019.
  3. Lesley Richmond & Alison Turton. The Brewing Industry: A Guide to Historical Records.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  4. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  5. Archived September 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  6. "Eyesore Brewery Bites the Dust". Cuddy Group. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  7. "Council plans for eyesore Mansfield Brewery site backed - Mansfield and Ashfield Chad". Chad.co.uk. 10 March 2008. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  8. "Commercial property and land search". Eddisons. Retrieved 23 August 2015.

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