Hook Norton Brewery Visit.

The weather was kind to us as we rode to our meeting point, The Aerodrome Café at Wellesbourne.  This is a great rendezvous point as you can get a mug of tea and something to eat if you missed breakfast.  It was most enjoyable to sit outside in the sun watching the aircraft taking off and landing while we chatted.  It was almost too nice to leave but we had to be at The Pear Tree in Hook Norton for lunch at midday.  We moved off in convoy with Gloria and me leading the way on the Rapide using the drop off system.  The day went a little wrong at only the second turning when the rest of the party went off in a different direction to me!  Ho-hum, these things happen and as everyone got to The Pear Tree in time for midday lunch nothing was spoilt.  Malcolm and Brenda H arrived on their Vincent from Chesterfield at 1.00 pm bringing our number to 21 people.  My meal of fish and chips was quite good and the other meals, on my table at least, looked good too.

The rural village of Hook Norton is picturesque with many old stone built dwellings.  The idyllic rural picture was completed when the shire horse drawn dray drove past. The shire horses deliver beer locally within 5 miles of the brewery and also sometimes attend fetes, pub openings and weddings.  The Brewery has three shire horses, Consul, Major and Nelson who are looked after by their two draymen.

The eighteen of us forming the tour party took the five minute walk up the lane to the brewery.  We were joined by an old friend of mine, Dennis Tailby.  Dennis and I worked together in the early 70’s at Burton on Trent brewery engineering company Brigg’s.  Dennis knows a lot about this particular brewery as he has made or repaired a lot of their brewing equipment and his wife also works there as a Brewer. 

The group split into two parties each with a guide.  Our party guide, Howard, was 89 years young and had no problem guiding us up and down the narrow stairways of the old six floor building.

The brewery was started over 150 years ago by local farmer John Harris.  It is still an independent family brewery and run by John Harris’ great, great, grandson, James Clarke.

On the ground floor we saw the horizontal Buxton & Thornley steam engine that provided power to machinery on all floors of the brewery via a system of shafts and gears.  Buxton & Thornley were a Burton on Trent company that were taken over by Brigg’s in 1912.  This 25 HP engine is still in working order and still occasionally provides power for the brewing process.  We moved up a floor at a time where the machinery and various brewing processes were explained to us.

Mash Tun

Pete, an employee, cleaning out the copper mash tun.

Up to another floor.

Howard explains the function of this vessel.

The other group going down a floor.

The tour ended with a return to the visitor centre where there was a chance to sample the many fine Hook Norton brews.  We were each given a bottle of beer to take home, a nice touch, bearing in mind that most of us were driving home and being careful how many brews we tried.  The visit over we returned on back lanes, through “Traitor’s Ford” and then via the familiar Fosse Way home.  Eddy.

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