-
the Knights Templar,
the Holy Grail and
underground tunnels -
A hoax.
A look at the 'double' side of 1960 -
A 1980's news magazine
A photographic tour of the county town.
Greetings cards for the discerning drinker.
Clocks and fridge magnets
Personalised birthday badges for all ages.
Four walks through Camden, Hampstead, Highgate and two markets.
How to reduce the odds on winning the Lottery.
Brewing in Hertford
Brewing was the industry on which the wealth of Hertford and Ware was founded. Street names such as Barley Croft, Brewhouse Lane and The Maltings can be associated with none other than malting and brewing operations.
In 1839 there were no less than 65 maltings in Ware alone but this had gradually
declined to only 21 by 1855. In the same High Street there were once 30 taverns,
inns and hotels all of which brewed on the premises to a greater or lesser extent;
and dominating the landscape were the unmistakable tapering witch-
McMullens remain as the only large scale independent brewer in the area. This sudden
decline was outside of the control of the maltsters, brewers that thrived on Hertfordshire's
pre-
Londoner's had always drunk beer; they considered it healthier than their natural, untreated water. This demand was met by the brewers who had traditionally sourced malt, the raw material for beer, from three main areas; Surrey, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.
Hertfordshire's main crop was barley and it thrived in the light well drained soil
producing the short, plump, thin-
The maltsters of Hertford and Ware had one other natural advantage -
Almost as soon as the Navigation Acts of the 1830's were allowing for the improvement of barge transport into Hertford, events were occurring elsewhere that were to threaten local trade.
In much the same way the invention of stout, first mentioned in 1677 is accredited to Henry Stout. He was a maltster at the White Lion in Fore Street, Hertford. In 1669 his daughter Sarah died in mysterious circumstances and a Spencer Cowper was tried for her murder. He must have been acquitted as he later became a High Court judge.
Henry Stout was a Quaker, and one of many Quakers who became involved in the brewing
industry as this was one of the few trades that were still open to them. Henry was
penalised in 1662 and 1664 for non-
The White Lion may have disappeared but Fore Street seems to have been a popular
venue for anyone with a thirst. Numbers 41 -
All evidence of a once thriving industry has all but vanished. On days when the wind is in the right direction the smell of hops still drifts over Hertford from McMullens brewery but small independent brewers, selling beer from their own premises belongs to an age that few now can barely remember.
© John Barber -
Whether or not it is the influence of the final product, the brewing industry seems to thrive on local legend. The dark brown beer called porter was said to have been invented by a Londoner. If this is so then it is safe to assume that the malt used to produce porter was developed in Hertfordshire, for this area was famous for its brown malts.
East Anglia was establishing itself as a major source of barley and barges using the sea route from Norfolk to London's Bear Quay were accounting for a higher proportion of London's malt imports. The big brewers were establishing their own maltings and factoring houses not just in Ware and Hertford but in the newer territories and their dependence on local supplies was diminishing.
Local malting was dealt a mortal blow by the new industrial age -
Ironically beer in bottles such as Indian Pale Ale (IPA) lasted the journey better;
a discovery made in Hertfordshire by a parson from Much Hadham, Alexander Nowell.
On one of his frequent fishing days he accidentally left a bottle of home produced
beer on the riverbank. It was his custom to put a stopper in the bottle to prevent
the contents being spilled and on his return a few days later he found that the beer
in the stoppered bottle had improved greatly -