Devenish Brewery, also known as J. A. Devenish & Co. Ltd, was a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

in Weymouth,

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

, England, that was founded in 1821 by William Devenish. It primarily operated from Weymouth's

Hope Square Hope Square is a historic square to the south of Weymouth Harbour in the seaside town of Weymouth, Dorset, southern England. Hope Street, Cove Street, and Trinity Street all lead via a short walk north to the harbour. Brewers Quay, previousl ...

, but also had a facility at

Redruth Redruth ( , kw, Resrudh) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also inc ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. Devenish was sold to

Greenalls De Vere is a hotels and leisure business, which until the late 1990s was a brewing company known as Greenall's. It used to be listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History Greenall's Brewery was fou ...

in 1993.

History

Devenish Brewery originated with the Flew Brewery, which had operated from Hope Square since 1742. William Devenish acquired a lease of the brewery in 1821 and then purchased it three years later. The brewery retained the Flew name until 1851, when it was changed to J. A. Devenish & Co. Ltd. The company acquired the Cornish Brewery Co. Ltd at Redruth in 1934 (later renamed Devenish Redruth Brewery Co Ltd in 1960) and the Weymouth-based rival Groves & Sons Ltd in 1960. Devenish faced financial difficulties by the 1980s, and brewing ceased at Hope Square in November 1985. Following its closure, Devenish and Weymouth & Portland Borough Council launched a major plan to transform the building into a shopping centre with a pub and restaurant. Devenish spent £4.5 million on refurbishing the building and transforming it into

Brewers Quay Brewers Quay is a converted Victorian brewery on the south side of Hope Square near the Old Harbour in Weymouth, Dorset, southern England. Much of the complex dates from 1903–04, when it was built as the Hope Brewery for John Groves & Sons ...

, which opened in June 1990. The new complex was hailed as "the Covent Garden of Dorset" and received numerous awards and commendations. Devenish Weymouth Brewery - geograph

Meanwhile, in February 1986, Devenish merged with Inn Leisure, and brewing was concentrated at the Redruth facility. The site was sold to new operators in June 1991 and renamed Redruth Brewery (closed in 2004). Devenish remained active as a pub company and distributor until 1993, when it was sold for £214 million to Greenalls.

References

{{Authority control Defunct breweries of the United Kingdom 1821 establishments in England 1993 disestablishments in England History of Weymouth, Dorset Companies based in Dorset Companies based in Cornwall Redruth