The Aldermaston Brewery (later known as Strange's Brewery) was a brewery located near

Aldermaston Aldermaston is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. In the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 1015. The village is in the Kennet Valley and bounds Hampshire to the south. It is approximately from Newbury, Basingstoke ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, UK.

History

The brewery was established at

Aldermaston Wharf Aldermaston Wharf is a small multi-parish settlement centred north-northwest of Aldermaston (where according to the Post Office the majority of the population taken at the 2011 Census was included) in West Berkshire, England. The Kennet and Avo ...

in 1770, adjacent to the

Kennet and Avon Canal The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the cent ...

. The brewery was bought by Thomas Strange in 1833. William Jeffreys Strange operated the brewery until 1902, after whom it was managed by John J Strange. In 1910, W.J. Strange & Sons was registered as a

limited liability company A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...

. For many years, the Strange family lived at Bridge House in nearby Mill Lane. The house is now part of the local

Steiner school Waldorf education, also known as Steiner education, is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Its educational style is holistic, intended to develop pupils' intellectual, artistic, and practical skil ...

. In 1922, Strange's bought The Bladebone in

Chapel Row Chapel Row is a hamlet in West Berkshire, England, and part of the civil parish of Bucklebury. In 2019 it had an estimated population of 627. History The hamlet was first documented in 1617 as ''Chapel Rewe'' and subsequently featured on Roq ...

for £3,500 (equivalent to approximately £150,000 in 2008). The brewery already rented a part of the

Bucklebury Bucklebury is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England, about north-east of Newbury and north of the A4 road. The parish has a population of 2,116, but the village is much smaller. Bucklebury Common, with an area of over , is one ...

estate – including the pub – measuring . The dues for this land were £86 (£3,500 in 2008) per annum. The brewery supplied

ale Ale is a Type of beer, type of beer brewed using a Warm fermentation, warm fermentation method, resulting in a sweet, full-bodied and fruity taste. Historically, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops. As with most beers, ale typicall ...

and

stout Stout is a dark, top-fermented beer with a number of variations, including dry stout, oatmeal stout, milk stout, and imperial stout. The first known use of the word ''stout'' for beer, in a document dated 1677 found in the Egerton Manuscript ...

to The Stocks pub in

Beenham Beenham is a village and civil parish centred east of Newbury in the West Berkshire district of Berkshire, England. Geography Beenham is north of Aldermaston. The Old Copse is a woodland within the village that is a Site of Special Scientifi ...

Buy-out

The business maintained operations until 1945, when it was bought out by Scrace's Brewery in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and stopped production. The company was acquired by Strong's of

Romsey Romsey ( ) is a historic market town in the county of Hampshire, England. Romsey was home to the 17th-century philosopher and economist William Petty and the 19th-century British prime minister, Lord Palmerston, whose statue has stood in the t ...

in 1950 and the site was demolished. In 1995, the site of the brewery was built upon in the expansion of Aldermaston Wharf.

References

Aldermaston Defunct breweries of the United Kingdom Companies based in Berkshire Food and drink companies established in 1770 Food and drink companies disestablished in 1950 1770 establishments in England 1950 disestablishments in England British companies disestablished in 1950 British companies established in 1770 Breweries in England {{UK-company-stub