Image from the National Brewery Collection
The Trust remains committed to protecting and preserving Britain’s brewing heritage. Our current focus is on securing the future of the archives and artefacts that were previously housed in the National Brewery Centre in Burton upon Trent, which means the Trust straddling two sites in the town.
In Station Street East Staffordshire Borough Council has provided a temporary location to house the archives, see here for more details.
In Guild Street, Molson Coors Beverage Company (MCBC) has funded some major repairs and refurbishments to enable many of the artefacts from the collection to continue to be housed safely and securely on the site until their new permanent home is ready. Trust volunteers are working hard in this location too. In the Joiner’s Shop, previous exhibits, such as the Victorian laboratory and 1960’s bar, are being dismantled, catalogued and stored. This is freeing up storage space for additional items which have been moved from the former Brewing Gallery area, which is being redeveloped to house MCBC’s head office. In addition, a new vehicle canopy has been fitted and some of the historic vehicles have been moved into the former stables for safe storage.
We continue to be in conversation with East Staffordshire Borough Council as they work on plans to redevelop key sites in Burton-upon-Trent. I believe passionately that the history of the brewing industry should be firmly at the heart of these plans, and over time our involvement in this work should create a long-term home for the Collection.
Meanwhile, we are taking this time to do a bit of housekeeping. As well as cleaning and storing existing artefacts, we’re using this opportunity to review and re-inventory all the many and varied items that were formerly housed in the National Brewery Centre. We’re sorting the wheat from the chaff in order to revitalise the collection and ensure that the focus going forward is on items of genuine interest and value.
As ever, all of us at the Trust are mindful of the need to look to the future as well as taking the right steps to protect the brewery heritage in our care.
