Brewing Company Records at the London Archives

The Clerk and Archivist visited The London Archives (TLA) towards the end of last year for a behind-the-scenes tour and to meet the Director. Our own historic Company archives are held at Guildhall Library, which is managed by TLA, but this was an opportunity to see the bigger, Greater London, picture.

The history of brewing in London is well-represented at The London Archives; they hold the records of over 20 major breweries including Courage, Truman, Watney Mann, Whitbread, and Fuller, Smith and Turner. A full listing can be seen here: Brewing and Distilling records at The London Archive.

Records date from 1621 and occupy about 400 linear metres of shelving. These rich and diverse collections include corporate and financial records; sales and production records; extensive property records including deeds of breweries and public houses, plans and photographs; staff records; house magazines; family and personal and family papers; publicity and advertising material.

Information about breweries and the brewing industry in London can be found in other archive collections at TLA, including Sessions records (for licensing), insurance records, trade directories, and local authority Building Act case files (effectively planning permission files). TLA also cares for the records of City Livery Companies associated with the brewing and distilling trades (including our own records) and the London Brewers’ Council. The Jones-Jones collection contains over 14,000 photographs of pub exteriors and pub signs, taken by amateur enthusiasts between 1970 and 1992.

Supporting use of the archive collections is the reference library, containing industry and company histories as well as the research publications of the Brewery History Society.

Their website, www.thelondonarchives.org/ provides details of opening hours, contact information and a link to their Collections Catalogue.