Don’t underestimate the role beer and brewing has played in supporting the Cotswold economy, says Hermione Taylor

Records tell us that brewing historically made up a relatively small part of the Cotswold economy: according to census data, only three per cent of Witney workers were employed in the industry by 1851. This might seem a strange way to start an article on the things that made the Cotswolds economy, but bear with me – while ‘official’ beer production in factories occupied relatively few workers, the Cotswolds brewing industry had a huge impact on the lives of many more.

Far from the scientific and techie process we see today, beer production was once a domestic task, largely done by women, who fitted the boiling, mashing and fermenting around other work. Although the Cotswolds never became a beer hub like Burton-on-Trent (which once boasted 26 breweries!), the area is remarkable for its incredibly well-preserved beer-making heritage, including breweries where traditional methods are still in use today.

Great British Life: In the 1600s, local brewhouses started to emerge, and by the Victorian age commercial breweries were growing rapidlyIn the 1600s, local brewhouses started to emerge, and by the Victorian age commercial breweries were growing rapidly (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Great British Life: The Cotswolds is remarkable for its incredibly well-preserved beer-making heritageThe Cotswolds is remarkable for its incredibly well-preserved beer-making heritage (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Beer was once an everyday drink, and making it was an everyday task. By the 1200s, ale was drunk for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and was brewed in the kitchens of every farm and great house (and many more humble ones). Although this beer was often weaker (medieval ‘small beer’ was thought to be around 3% strength), it could also pack a punch.

Between October and March, brewers would make high percentage beers that could survive the summer months without spoiling, and these could reach an eye-watering 12% strength. By the 1500s, records show that the court of Henry VIII (not known for its moderation) drank over 13,000 pints a day, and you can imagine the hangovers that must have followed a royal progress to the hunting grounds in Woodstock! In the 1600s, local brewhouses started to emerge, and by the Victorian age commercial breweries were growing rapidly – several of them still in production today.

Great British Life: Hook Norton Brewery's vintage truck at Moreton ShowHook Norton Brewery's vintage truck at Moreton Show (Image: Hermione Taylor)

Hook Norton Brewery is one of them. Its magnificent six-storey Victorian Tower Brewery sits between Banbury and Chipping Norton, and you may even have sampled a pint of Hooky at one of their 36 local pubs. But even more remarkable than their beer is their heritage: the ground floor of the brewery houses the oldest in-use steam engine in the country, which is still used to pump the water used for beer-making from the well below. Even more remarkably, a dray drawn by shire horses is still used to make deliveries within five miles of the brewery today.

Great British Life: Hook Norton BreweryHook Norton Brewery (Image: Wikimedia/Creative Commons)

Further west across the Cotswold hills sits Donnington Brewery, an ancient woollen mill which was given over to beer production in the Victorian period. On first glance, Donnington couldn’t look more different to the towering Hook Norton Brewery. But don’t let this fool you – Donnington is another fantastic example of outstandingly-preserved brewing heritage. Until the late 1950s, all of its power was generated by water wheels, which are still used today. Until the 1960s, the brewery also grew its own barley for malting in the fields next to the mill, and water from the spring beside the millpond is still used to produce the beer for its 18 local pubs.

Wychwood Brewery, which sits just off Church Green in Witney, is another great example of the rich brewing history of the Cotswolds. You would recognise a bottle of their iconic Hobgoblin anywhere, and they have also produced Brakspear beers since the Henley brewery closed in 2002. Brakspear pride themselves on their ‘Double-Drop’ brewing technique, which sees the beer ferment for 16 hours before dropping to a second tank to begin another fermentation. The roof of Wychwood brewery was raised in 2002 specially to fit this unique equipment.

Great British Life: Donnington BreweryDonnington Brewery (Image: Michael Dibb/Creative Commons)

Though it might seem out of keeping today, almost all of the grand houses of the Cotswolds would have originally been constructed with their own brewery, too. Stanway House – now a popular wedding venue – still boasts a working log-fire brewery. When the house was built in the Elizabethan era, incorporating a brewery would not have been unusual, and you can apparently still try a pint of ‘Stanney Bitter’ in the Crown and Trumpet in Broadway today!

Great British Life: Wychwood Brewery's Hobgoblin beersWychwood Brewery's Hobgoblin beers (Image: Wikimedia/Creative Commons)

Most Oxford Colleges would also have been constructed with their own brewery, and the last of these at Queen’s College only closed in 1939. Beer played a huge part in college life, and different colleges brewed their own specialities: Queen’s was, unsurprisingly, famed for its strong drink and the tradition of ‘sconcing’ where students were challenged to drink two pints of ale in a go.

But, as students were carousing in college dining halls, Temperance Halls were springing up across the Cotswolds. The Temperance movement advocated complete abstinence from ‘intoxicating liquors’, and several prominent local families, including the Earlys of Witney Blanket fame, supported the movement. There are stories of blanket merchants who visited the family home for a business lunch, only to leave disappointed with the teetotal cider alternative, ‘Cyrax’ served to them there.

Great British Life: Oxford Queen’s College was, unsurprisingly, famed for its strong drink and the tradition of ‘sconcing’ where students were challenged to drink two pints of ale in a goOxford Queen’s College was, unsurprisingly, famed for its strong drink and the tradition of ‘sconcing’ where students were challenged to drink two pints of ale in a go (Image: Wikimedia/Creative Commons)

The Earlys even tried to encourage abstinence at Tuckers Feasts – twice-annual workers’ celebrations. The feasts were usually rowdy affairs, and drinking could go on for several days. One teetotal factory owner tried to hold an alcohol-free feast in the Friends Meeting House in Witney’s Woodgreen. This was apparently received as badly as you might expect: the Tuckers set up camp in the Three Pigeons Pub across the road, only popping into the Meeting House to finish their free meal. Apparently, a compromise was later reached where a bottle of beer per man was allowed ‘as long as it couldn’t be seen’ – though I can’t help but suspect that the tuckers snuck in rather more than that…

The Three Pigeons pub is still going strong, but Witney has lost its Jolly Tucker alehouse as well as the Butchers Arms, Blacks Head, Crown Inn, Harriers, House of Windsor and Swan Inn. According to the Lost Pubs Project, Oxfordshire has 779 lost pubs, and Gloucestershire a staggering 1,053. Stonesfield near Woodstock typifies this trend. It once boasted seven different pubs – not bad going for a village with a population of 1,500 people – but its final pub was put up for sale in July 2020.

Great British Life: Stanway House in Gloucestershire still boasts a working log-fire breweryStanway House in Gloucestershire still boasts a working log-fire brewery (Image: Wikimedia/Creative Commons)

The village rallied to try and save the The White Horse, raising enough through a share issue to buy the pub at asking price, but another offer was accepted. It remains closed today. The story made the national news, and even featured in a New York Times article. What was it about this village pub that resonated even on the other side of the world? A study by Newcastle Business School found that rural areas with a pub enjoy higher house prices and create valuable local employment too. But their importance is much more than purely economic: they sit at the heart of local communities and help to preserve local traditions. As many of us longed for a beer garden or a pub roast in the dark days of lockdown last year, it seems we began to value our local pubs more than ever.

And there is some happy news for the Cotswold brewing industry. There are now over 30 craft breweries in the area, serving up local delights like Shagweaver, Golden Fleece and Muddy Wellies. In 2016, Hook Norton Brewery even developed a beer using Blenheim Palace mineral water – named ‘Finest Brew’ in honour of the palace’s ‘finest view in England’. North Cotswold Brewery still brews using traditional methods: even recycling spent hops as fertiliser on local fields.

With a return to smaller production and traditional methods, it looks like the future of the Cotswold brewing industry could, in fact, lie in its past.

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