Burton Upon Trent in 50 Buildings Paperback

by Gerry Tonder

Part of the In 50 Buildings series

Paperback

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Description

This unpretentious, peaceful marketing town, sitting on the River Trent in the English Midlands, owes its almost singular status and wealth to its water.

This, however, is no ordinary water. Minerals in surrounding hills infuse the water in local springs and wells with inherent qualities that have made Burton-brewed beer uniquely distinctive and very desirable. Brewing in the town, first carried out by Benedictine monks in the eleventh century, became universal when Henry VIII closed monasteries, a move that saw breweries being established to meet the strong demand from Russia.

In the 1800s, much of the town was given over to the brewing of beer, resulting in civil government and social dominance by the industry and its wealthy owners.

The likes of brewing magnates such as Michael Thomas Bass, Samuel Allsop and William Henry Worthington became prominent benefactors of Burton's infrastructure: Town Hall, St.

Margaret's Church, swimming baths, the infirmary and the attractive St.

Paul's. Industrialisation as experienced in the neighbouring Derwent Valley largely escaped Burton upon Trent, but the powerful economic dominance of the brewers ensuring the town's growth and wealth. Burton upon Trent, however, retains that complexion of a quintessential English market town: a market hall from 1200, library, manor houses, churches, pubs, and the Tudor timber-framed Sinai Park House. Today, Burton is internationally renowned as the home of brewing.

This is very apparent when the visitor encounters preserved breweries, sprawling beer-cask storage buildings, and the contemporary monument to its status as the UK's largest brewery, the prominent 230 foot Molson Coors Maltings Tower.