Comments on: The Lost Breweries Of Whitechapel

By: Kathryn Pettet

Kathryn Pettet — Sun, 27 Mar 2022 18:27:07 +0000

In the 60’s Charlie Binyon my grandad was the night watchman at the stables in The Whitechapel Road. Me and my dad used to visit him there. I would sit on the back of one of these huge beautiful horses and feed them spangles.
Grandad was originally a drayman until some bear barrels fell off the cart and on to him.

By: Sue Seeley

Sue Seeley — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 18:42:07 +0000

My 3 generations of my family worked at Albion brewer for close to one hundred years. Great Grandfather, Grandfather, 2 uncles and Dad . Can remember Dad taking me to see the stables in the early 60’s as they still kept horses then for shows.

By: Ian Silverton

Ian Silverton — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 20:15:33 +0000

Good story GA, loved the bits about Charington Brewery Whitechapel, my job as a small boy was to clear the mess from the two Drays that delivered the beer weekly to my Dads Pub in Bethnal Green left behind, in Warner Place directly outside the posh Saloon Bar as it was called then, Pi s and Sh t galore but that was part of our life then, Mrs Salmon our next door neighbor always wanted the hoarse Manure for her garden i.e. A back yard always gave me 6 pence a bucket hand delivered to her door?

By: Di corry

Di corry — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 20:02:41 +0000

Great photos Philip…..those sights and smells are very much a part of my childhood in the East End. Some of my cousins worked at Truman’s Brewery and I have fond memories of the tales they told about their times there.

By: Peter Holford

Peter Holford — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 13:11:54 +0000

I fear Fuller’s will be the next to disappear in spite of various reassurances. Asahi have bought everything to do with the brewery while Fuller’s have decided to be a pub company. It is very reminiscent of Young’s. The Chiswick site is a very valuable piece of real estate and to a company like Asahi it is just another asset on the balance sheet. The brand of Fullers won’t disappear – Young’s still exists as a brand but is brewed in Bedfordshire. On a visit to King’s Cross I noticed Asahi has quickly got it’s branding all over the big Fuller’s pub, the Parcel Yard, in the station.

This is part of my heritage being trashed – I grew up in Putney with the Young’s dray horses a part of my childhood memory, and went to school in Hammersmith almost next door to Fuller’s.

You can’t help thinking that the French, with their concern for le terroir and provenance would not let their cultural heritage be vandalised by the pursuit of short term profit.

By: paul loften

paul loften — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 11:42:38 +0000

I recall the brewery at Raven Row where I used to visit my grandmother there as a child. There was a huge chimney on the corner of Whitechapel Road with large white letters running downwards. I recall it as being TRUMANS but I could be wrong . I think it was demolished around 1958. I remember seeing the excavations and the demolition, the dust, and the nuisance that it caused to the local residents. The houses were 18th century tiny one-floor dwellings with outside toilets. The post office purchased the site and it became a depot for their vans so the nuisance became even worse with a constant flow of traffic entering the main gate situated in Raven Row. My father used to play in the same street behind the London Hospital and he told me that a deaf and dumb egg chandler lived in the basement of the house next door and the boys, when they tired of playing football in the street, used to gather and peer into his window and watch him with wonder, in his room full of eggs, hold the egg up to the light to see if it was good or bad. It was done with great speed so it was a sight worth seeing

By: Steve Hanscomb

Steve Hanscomb — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 10:07:20 +0000

Wonderful pictures, such a shame buildings of such quality are not repurposed. I truly hope Fullers keep brewing on their current site now that the company has been sold.
Beer is far more than just a name. Where is is brewed is vitally important to its authenticity, otherwise it is simply a name. The water is only one part of what makes a beer unique. Tradition and history play a big part in making my choice when buying a pint. The sale of Young’s was an absolute tragedy. Beer was brewed on that site since the 1500’s, the brewery was doing well. Now it is just a pub co and the beer brewed far from London. Young’s pubs were somewhere very special, now they mean nothing. So very sad. John Young held out for so long against takeover when many of the big names gave up. His passing paved the way for the family to ditch brewing.
I grew up with the same stories being told, of the once proud family breweries selling up for a quick profit when the sons or daughters weren’t interested in the heritage. My Dad edited CAMRA’s first Good Beer Guide and I was taught at an early age to appreciate the wonders of our brewing heritage. The ones that survive, Hook Norton, Harveys, Adnams etc. need supporting as much as the often superb micro breweries.

By: Colin Cohen

Colin Cohen — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 09:58:58 +0000

Very sad losses, even to a non-drinker!

By: John Venes

John Venes — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 09:41:46 +0000

And Truman’s in Brick Lane.

By: Jill Wilson

Jill Wilson — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 08:37:25 +0000

Sad that these breweries are no longer with us…

My grandfather was head brewer at the Black Eagle brewery in Westerham and we had to walk through the brewery yard to get to his magical garden, and so whenever I smell that distinctive malty smell it immediately takes me back to my childhood and the many happy times spent with our doting grandparents.

Unfortunately the brewery was taken over by a bigger company and was reduced to becoming just a bottling plant (a familiar story!) until it was eventually closed down.

The good news is that there has been revival of craft brewing in the area, and Westerham ales are being brewed to the same recipe and being much enjoyed once again – phew!

It would be interesting to have a companion piece to today’s blog about the many artisan breweries which are now flourishing in the East End. Thank goodness the taste for real ale is alive and well…