The Brewing Industry: Archive Report | PDF - English Heritage

The Brewing Industry: Archive Report
This report attempts to summarise the changes relating to the archives of the brewing industry since the
publication of Richmond and Turton’s comprehensive The brewing industry: A guide to historical records in
1990. The two most notable events have been the dispersal of records: the Whitbread Archive in 2001 and
the Allied Breweries Archive in 2002-3, but there have of course been many other depositions (see
Appendix). In the 21st century online searching has made research much simpler, the Access to Archives
portal of the National Archives website always being a good starting point (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
a2a/). In addition, the Business Archives Council published its National Strategy for Business Archives in
England and Wales in July 2009.
1 Major repositories of brewing industry archives and books
1.1 London Metropolitan Archives
40 Northampton Road, London EC1R 0HB
020 7332 3820 www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/lma
Records held by London Metropolitan Archives include those of large brewing companies such as Courage
& Co; Watney Combe Reid; Truman Hanbury Buxton; Fuller, Smith and Turner; and London-related items
from the Allied Breweries and Whitbread groups. An online catalogue is available at the London
Metropolitan Archives website.
1.2 Brewery History Society Archive
Archives and Heritage Service, Birmingham Central Library, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham B3 3HQ
0121 303 4511 Information on the Archives and Heritage Service may be obtained from the Birmingham
City Council website www.birmingham.gov.uk
The archive of the Brewery History Society, which was originally based on items from the Brewers’ Society,
includes books, journals, directories, maps, labels, drawings and photographs. The catalogue runs to over
300 pages; a brief version is available to read or download at www.breweryhistory.com.archive.htm
1.3 Modern Records Centre
University Library, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL
02476 524219 www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/
The Modern Records Centre holds a collection of records from various brewers’ organisations including the
Brewers’ Society, Country Brewers’ Society, Brewing Patents Limited and the National Trade Defence
Association. A subject guide with a brief list of holdings may be downloaded from the website.
1.4 National Brewing Library
Oxford Brookes University Library, Gipsy Lane, Oxford OX3 0BP
01865 483136
www.brookes.ac.uk/library/speccoll/brewing.html
The National Brewing Library comprises over 3,500 volumes; about a quarter of the items are unique to the
collection and do not appear in the catalogues of other major collections including the British Library. The
National Brewing Library is based on the combined libraries of the Institute of Brewing, the International
Brewers’ Guild, the technical reference library of the Brewers and Licensed Retailers Association, plus the
book collection contained within the Whitbread Archive. It continues to be augmented with newlypublished
books related to brewing, and by donations of older books from companies and individuals. In
2008 it aquired the archive of the late Michael Jackson (1942-2007), the beer writer. The National Brewing
Library catalogue may be downloaded from the website in various formats.
1.5 Scottish Brewing Archive
Archive Services, 13 Thurso Street, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G11 6PE
0141 3305515 www.archives.gla.ac.uk/sba/default.html
As well as its huge collection of records relating to the Scottish brewing industry, the Scottish Brewing
Archive has a small number of items relating to English breweries. Its website includes guides to periodical
holdings and an alphabetical index of company holdings.
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