Book prompts brewery tour - TrustNews Sept 14
My book Time Gentlemen Please! gave Sue Bell, local organizer for outings for the Brewery History Society, the idea of arranging a tour of the sites of Winchester’s breweries, with the support of David Williams, a retired brewery architect who assisted me with the 3rd edition of my book. Consequently a full-day tour took place on July 9th attended by 20 enthusiastic members of the society from as far away as Bristol and even Newcastle, several of whom had never visited Winchester before. David conducted the tour with me filling in historical details on landmarks along the way. We commenced at Winchester College library, formerly the brewhouse, and finished at the site of Chesil Brewery in Chesil Street. During a light lunch at the Wykeham Arms David gave a brief talk on Winchester‘s breweries and I was able to sign copies of my book. Members then tasted samples of beer at Alfred's Brewery and the Red Cat Brewery at Winnall. The Brewery History Society was founded in 1973 ‘to promote historical research into all aspects of brewing and related industries both in the UK and abroad’. Judging by their enthusiastic response, the members certainly enjoyed their visit to Winchester!