The History Of The Old Brewery In Horndean
25 Sep 2013

The village of Horndean has existed since the early Middle Ages – it was originally established as a staging post because of its convenient position between London and the most important naval and military city in the country at the time: Portsmouth. Today that ancient route is known as the A3.

The brewery at the centre of this Hampshire village has been part of Horndean’s history since the mid 1800s when the Gale and Co brewery was formally established by George Gale:

To begin with the Gale family had been renowned in Horndean as, firstly, local grocers and bakers and later as corn and coal merchants.*

In 1847 the family bought the Ship and Bell pub – its first foray into the world of beer. It was traditional for pubs of the time to brew their own beer and George Gale, who was running the pub in 1853, realised that there was great opportunity for expanding the brewery side of the business.

Unfortunately the original brewery was burned down in a fire, but its replacement, complete with the distinctive tower, is what can still be seen in Horndean today.

Gale and Co was registered as a limited company in 1888. It initially thrived, survived two world wars, and in the late 1950s really began to flourish following the creation of HSB – the famous ‘Horndean Special Bitter’.

The Brewery continued to be a major part of Horndean life until 2005, when award winning Gale and Co was bought by Fuller’s, Smith and Turner. (The Gale beers are still brewed at Fuller’s brewery in Chiswick.)

However, the Gale and Co brewing tower, the focal point of the village for 150 years, still exists today – and remains at the centre of the new Linden Homes’ development which is transforming the old Gale and Co brewery site. As well as new homes, The Old Brewery development also includes refurbished homes built within some of the original brewery buildings.

(For more information on The Old Brewery at Horndean, please call Linden Homes’ Southern on 0845 603 6350.)

*Source: The Fuller’s/Gale and Co website.

-ENDS-

For further information, contact Claire McCowan or Emma Cox at Remarkable Public Relations on 01962 893 893 or Claire.mccowan@remarkablegroup.co.uk

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