The Anchor Brewery was a brewery in Park Street,

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. Established in 1616, by the early nineteenth century it was the largest brewery in the world. From 1781 it was operated by Barclay Perkins & Co, who in 1955 merged with the

Courage Brewery Courage was an English brewery, founded by John Courage in London, England, in 1787. History Origin and family ownership The Courage Brewery was started by John Courage (1757 – October 1793). He was a Scottish shipping agent believed to b ...

, which already owned the nearby Anchor Brewhouse. The Park Street brewery was demolished in 1981.

History

The brewery was established in 1616 by James Monger Sr. in Southwark, on land adjacent to the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...

. On his death, the brewery passed to his godson, James Monger Jr. James Child acquired the brewery after the younger Monger's death in 1670, and owned it until his death in 1696. His son in law, Edmund Halsey, managed the business with James Child from 1693, and subsequently as sole proprietor until his death in 1729. The brewery was then purchased by Ralph Thrale, the brewery manager and a nephew of Halsey, for £30,000 in instalments over 11 years. Barclay Perkins & Co was founded in July 1781 after chief clerk John Perkins and Robert Barclay (of the banking family) acquired the Anchor Brewery from

Henry Thrale Henry Thrale (1724/1730?–4 April 1781) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1765 to 1780. He was a close friend of Samuel Johnson. Like his father, he was the proprietor of the large London brewery H. Thrale & Co. B ...

's widow,

Hester Hester is both a female given name and a surname. As a given name Hester is a variant of Esther. As a surname it is of Italian origin and uncertain meaning. In Ireland, particularly County Mayo, the surname Hester is found as an Anglicized form of ...

for £135,000, to be paid over four years. They additionally paid her for permission to keep using the Thrale & Co name until 1795. In 1782, 85,700 barrels were brewed. By 1809 the venture had an annual output of 260,000 barrels, making it the largest brewery in the world. Between 1809 and 1853 the Anchor had the largest output of any brewery in London. The brewery produced exclusively porter until 1834, when it began to brew pale ale. A fire at the brewery in May 1832, caused £40,000 worth of damage, destroying many buildings and resulting in considerable rebuilding of the site. The new brewery attracted considerable interest: visitors included the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

, the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...

, Prince Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte,

Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt Ibrahim Pasha ( ''Ibrāhīm Bāshā''; 1789 – 10 November 1848) was an Egyptian general and politician; he was the commander of both the Egyptian and Ottoman armies and the eldest son of Muhammad Ali, the Ottoman Wāli and unrecognized Khedi ...

, the Austrian general

Julius Jacob von Haynau Julius Jakob Freiherr von Haynau (14 October 1786 – 14 March 1853) was an Austrian general who suppressed insurrectionary movements in Italy and Hungary in 1848 and later. While a hugely effective military leader, he also gained renown as an agg ...

, who was attacked by draymen while touring the brewery in 1850, and the Italian nationalist

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

in 1864. In 1867, Barclay Perkins brewed 423,000 barrels.The Brewery of Barclay, Perkins and Co.
/ref> Barclay Perkins was an early adopter of

lager Lager (; ) is a Type of beer, style of beer brewed and Brewing#Conditioning, conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be Pale lager, pale, Amber lager, amber, or Dark lager, dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially availab ...

production in the UK, with the Anchor brewing lager from 1922. In 1955, Barclay Perkins merged with rival London brewer

Courage Courage (also called bravery, valour ( British and Commonwealth English), or valor (American English)) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in ...

. Brewing continued at the Anchor site until the early 1970s. In 1981 the brewery buildings were demolished, although the former

brewery tap A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

, the Anchor Tavern, remains. The brewery was well known for its

Russian Imperial Stout Stout is a type of dark beer that is generally Brewing#Warm fermenting, warm fermented, such as #Dry stout, dry stout, #Oatmeal stout, oatmeal stout, #Milk stout, milk stout and #Imperial stout, imperial stout. Stout is a type of ale. The firs ...

, which continued to be brewed by

and later Scottish & Newcastle until 1993. The nearby

Anchor Terrace 300px, Anchor Terrace. Anchor Terrace is a large symmetrical building on the east side of Southwark Bridge Road in London, situated very close to the River Thames. It was built in 1834, and its original inhabitants were senior employees of the n ...

was built in 1834, after the fire of 1832, for senior employees of the brewery and stands on top of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's original

References

External links

History of the Anchor Brewery - its sale

Barclay, Perkins & Co.

''Survey of London: volume 22: Bankside (the parishes of St. Saviour and Christchurch Southwark)'' edited by Sir Howard Roberts and Walter H. Godfrey 1950. Pages 78-80: Chapter 9 - The Anchor Brewery
* {{Coord, 51.5068, -0.0933, type:landmark_region:GB-SWK, display=title Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Southwark Breweries in London 1981 disestablishments in England 1616 establishments in England British companies disestablished in 1981 Buildings and structures demolished in 1981 Demolished buildings and structures in London

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links