Laura Waters joined the National Brewery Heritage Trust as Collections Officer in March 2023.
Volunteer Malcolm Goode prepares to record and pack one of hundreds of journals that capture Burton’s brewing history.
Volunteer Stephen Wilkins prepares the Malt Dressing Machine to be carefully dismantled and packed away, so it can be stored until the new Heritage Centre is ready to open.
Andy Harris, a volunteer who is part of a group that usually maintain the railway exhibits at the site, records document stamps from the many former brewing companies whose archives make up the collection.
Volunteer Stephen Skeet has been part of a team maintaining the steam-powered Robey engine for more than a decade. The group is working with the National Brewery Heritage Trust to map out a plan to continue to maintain and preserve the engine in the coming months and years.
Brett Rathbone, a Trustee, records items in the video archive which includes every Carling television advert ever made.
Welcoming our new Collections Officer
The National Brewery Heritage Trust is delighted to announce the appointment of Laura Waters (left) as Collections Officer. In this capacity, Laura will oversee the continued preservation of the archives and artefacts which make up the National Brewery Collection, based in Burton upon Trent.
Laura has decades of experience at museums and heritage sites across the UK, including Buxton Museum and Art Gallery and the National Trust. Her immediate priorities will be overseeing the relocation of the collection, and working with East Staffordshire Borough Council (ESBC) and other stakeholders in shaping the future vision for the National Brewery Collection.
As part of the role, which is being funded by Molson Coors, Laura will support a team of volunteers currently working to catalogue and carefully pack all the archives before they are moved to their temporary new home, on Station Street in Burton.
Read the full press release here: NBHT Collections Officer Release
National Brewery Centre Closure
In September 2022, Molson Coors Brewing Company announced that the National Brewery Centre in Burton upon Trent was to close at the end of October. The NBHT immediately launched a programme of action to ensure the long-term future of the unique collection of archives and artefacts currently housed at the NBC.
Whilst deeply saddened by the closure, the National Brewery Heritage Trust’s core objective is to ensure that the historic collections remain in Burton, so that it may continue to be accessible to the public for future generations to enjoy. Following the announcement in September, immediately we began conversations with Molson Coors and East Staffordshire Borough Council to find a suitable long-term home for the collection, where the archives and artefacts may be properly displayed and cared for.
In the meantime, we will continue to advise MCBC and ESBC on the work required to ensure that the collection is safely stored until it can be moved to its new home.
If you would like to help us in securing Britain’s brewing heritage for future generations, please consider becoming a Member of the National Brewery Heritage Trust or making a one-off donation.
National Brewery Centre Closure
In September 2022, Molson Coors Brewing Company announced that the National Brewery Centre in Burton upon Trent was to close at the end of October. The NBHT immediately launched a programme of action to ensure the long-term future of the unique collection of archives and artefacts currently housed at the NBC.
Whilst deeply saddened by the closure, the National Brewery Heritage Trust’s core objective is to ensure that the historic collections remain in Burton, so that it may continue to be accessible to the public for future generations to enjoy. Following the announcement in September, immediately we began conversations with Molson Coors and East Staffordshire Borough Council to find a suitable long-term home for the collection, where the archives and artefacts may be properly displayed and cared for.
In the meantime, we will continue to advise MCBC and ESBC on the work required to ensure that the collection is safely stored until it can be moved to its new home.
If you would like to help us in securing Britain’s brewing heritage for future generations, please consider becoming a Member of the National Brewery Heritage Trust or making a one-off donation.
Project Completed: Burton Union Set Restoration
In 2017, the Trust organised the restoration of a rare surviving example of a Burton Union set and its protective canopy.
The Burton Union was a fermentation system favoured by the majority of Burton’s brewers from the mid-nineteenth century onwards for the production of the ales for which Burton became famous. This “double” Set boasts 52 casks, each with a capacity of 150 gallons, giving it a nominal total volume of 200 brewer’s barrels, or 7,200 Imperial gallons. At the end of the nineteenth century there were more than 100 such double Sets operating in Burton.
The Union system was particularly effective because during fermentation excess yeast was expelled naturally via the “Swan Necks” – the curled pipes inserted into the tops of the casks – into the “Top Trough”, where it stayed, chilled, until transferred for re-use in the next brew. The beer remained in the Union casks until run down into the wooden “Bottom Trough” and thence into large vats, from which it was racked (filled) into oak barrels for despatch to depots and onwards to customers.
Ongoing Project: NBC Archives Online
Beer lovers and history enthusiasts can now access thousands of items at the click of a mouse, including adverts, pub and brewery photos, and company records.
In July 2020, the National Brewery Heritage Trust launched the NBC Archives website <https://www.nbcarchives.co.uk/>, which provides free online access to the National Brewery Collection covering 250 years of brewing in Britain. This unique collection of archives and artefacts, housed in Burton upon Trent, tells the history of the UK brewing and pub industries and their impact on the UK’s economy and way of life. Visitors to the website can search the collections and explore a range of articles, which cover all aspects of the brewing industry from grain to glass.
On the launch of the website, Dr. Harry White, NBHT Chairman, commented: “Our aim is accessibility so we’re delighted that we’ve been able to start cataloguing our unique collection of brewing and pub heritage, opening online access for researchers, educators, and enthusiasts. We’ve already uploaded many thousands of items, but this is a work in progress and more records and images will be added to the catalogue day by day.”
The NBC Archives website continues to develop, with new articles, documents, and images added regularly.
This project is led by volunteers, and we need your help to continue our work. Please consider joining the NBHT as a Member <https://nationalbreweryheritagetrust.co.uk/support-us/> for only £25 a year.
Project Completed: Barley Wagon Restoration
Once horse drawn wagons carrying grain, hops and beer were the vehicles of choice for brewers and farmers. This vehicle was sold by Bass in 1932 to Ian Anchor of Thurlston, part of a lot consisting of “five brewery waggons, three brewery carts and one set of heavy horse harness for the princely sum of £50 twelve shillings and sixpence”.
Years later, the wagon was later discovered at Wilson House Farm, Wilson, and in 1983 was taken to the Bass Museum where it underwent a complete restoration courtesy of the trades still employed within the Bass company. In the 1990s it was once again refurbished by a group known as NACRO-rehabilitated prisoners.
Fast forward to 2018 and it was the turn of the Trust to oversee its restoration. With the support of our members and sponsors, together with the expertise of volunteers at the National Brewery Centre, this wagon looks resplendent once again.