Alcester Brewery

Description of this historic site

19th century brewery located off Church Street, Alcester.

Notes about this historic site

1 The date of the founding of the original brewery is unknown but it appears to have been in the mid 19th century.
The Haines family are known to have run the brewery in the late 19th century and are listed in Kelly’s directories from 1863 onwards.
It was extensively rebuilt in 1886 and won medals in 1888 and 1890 for brewing.
The brewery was sold by the Haines family in 1899 and brewing ceased in 1914.
The plant continued to be used as a bottling store until the 1920’s when the brewery was demolished.
A plan from 1899 for the brewery shows that the property consisted of; Private Offices, A Brewers House, Cellars and Stores, A Fermenting Room, A Racking Room, The Brewery main building, A Cart Shed, Clerks Offices, Bottling Stores, Stables, Sheds and a Stabling and Cart Shed.

An archaeological observation in 2004 located remains of a greenhouse and the Stabling and Cart Shed building belonging to the brewery.

The greenhouse is reputed to have been used as a vinery for the brewery and some remains of an underfloor heating system were found during the 2004 observation.

2 Brewery built in 1886 for George Henry Heap Haines. Last mention of brewery in 1912 directory. From 1916 until 1921-24 it was used for bottling beer only.

The bowling green and a garden is listed as part of the brewery and meant to stretch the property down to the river Arrow.
An auctioneers description says “the central portion was re-erected in 1886” but does not say what it replaced. It is thought not to be a brewery before 1886 and definitly not before 1884, it was probably Haines’ Maltings.

Main brewery building consisted of four floor and a celler and housed much of the equipment for the brewing process including; grinding room, malt hopper, cold water tank, mash tuns, coppers, cooler room, iron hop back, iron cooler, fermenting room, hop/malt store, yeast press, racking room, store, boiler house and cool cellars.

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