The Wrekin Brewery of Wellington, Shropshire, was in business for 100 years from 1870 until 1969. Of all the breweries in east Shropshire, it was the most successful. From 1929, the brewery actively pursued a programme of public-house acquisition which resulted in an unprecedented area being provided with its award-winning ales, stretching to include towns throughout Shropshire, Herefordshire and Powys. Most of the photographs included in the book have never been published. and are supplemented by chapters revealing a brief history of the brewery and the nature of its public houses.
Breweries and Bottlers
Mention breweries and pop works in Wellington and almost everyone will remember the Murphy family who owned The Wrekin Brewery and O.D. Murphy's Wrekin Mineral Water Works for some fifty years. But that's only half the story. With a full account from medieval times until brewing and bottling ceased in 1969, the book explores the business successes and failures of The Shropshire, The Mill Field, The Red Lion, The Union, The Botanical and the Wrekin Brewery. The origins and subsequent fortunes of small bottling firms are covered as well as the various mineral-water manufacturers who struggled to survive until, as with the breweries, the Murphy family quashed all competition. Lavishly illustrated with plans, memorabilia and many previously unpublished photographs, this is the definitive history of brewing and bottling in the historic medieval market town of Wellington in Shropshire.
About the Author
Allan Frost, born in Wellington, Shropshire, grew up in the town and
now lives in Priorslee. He worked at The Wrekin Brewery during his
1968 summer vacation.