19th century brewery at Wethersfield (EHER 15973)

A 19th century village brewery founded by Thomas Raven who was documented as a brewer in 1848. It was sold to Greene King and Sons Limited in 1902, and had closed by 1922. Surviving components comprise the malthouse, which has been in use as a village hall since 1922, the brewhouse and brewer's house, now Hillfoot House, have been converted to private dwellings, and the brewery tap house trades as a public house. Brewery workers cottages are situated at Sandhills. Another workers cottage situated next to the malthouse was demolished in 2007.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import: A 19th century village brewery founded by Thomas Raven who was documented as a brewer in 1848. It was sold to Greene King and Sons Limited in 1902, and had closed by 1922. Surviving components comprise the malthouse, which has been in use as a village hall since 1922, the brewhouse and brewer's house, now Hillfoot House, have been converted to private dwellings, and the brewery tap house trades as a public house. Brewery workers cottages are situated at Sandhills. Another workers cottage situated next to the malthouse was demolished in 2007. <1> - <5> 2002. Survey. The Wethersfield Brewery site is a complex of a number of extant components of a 19th century large, village brewery, which now all have separate ownership and uses. Probably built in the 1840s when Thomas Raven is recorded as the brewer and eventually also a maltster, the business was managed by is wife Elizabeth from 1877 until it was sold to Greene King and Sons Ltd in 1901. Brewing probably continued until after the Second World War. The brewhouse is a three storey red brick building under a pantiled roof with single storey out buildings and the boiler house chimney extant. There are two full length round headed windows on the ground floor of the west facade, otherwise window openings are much altered. It was converted to private residential use in 1952 and remains a private house. To the north of the brewhouse is the brewery malthouse, now the village hall. This too is of red brick, two storeys under a slate roof with a lucam on the road front facade (north east). There has been some poor alteration to this structure – the kiln was demolished in the 1950s, a modern porch has been added to the ground floor under the lucam and some of the side extensions are in a poor state. ‘Hillfoot House’ to the south of the malthouse was the brewery owner’s house. This is a magnificent double fronted house with a two storey bay either side of the front door. It is of rendered brick with white brick chimneys and a slate roof. The final component is the Brewery Tap public house built according to the plaque in 1879. It is of red brick with yellow brick dressings under a slate roof and also has much moulded tile decoration, such as on the gable ends, around some of the first floor windows and marking the top of the first floor. To the rear of the Brewery Tap are the former stables, again of red and yellow brick, now under a corrugated roof. <6> 2007. Building survey. Demolition was approved to remove a 19th century lean-to built against the southern long wall of the former malthouse. The structure was in a perilous condition, the roof collapsed as was a internal floor. It is unclear what function it once had but given its location it may have housed a steeping tank and associated barley loft. No internal fixtures or fittings were seen apart from an inserted a 20th century brick fireplace and modern racking. The brickwork was mainly 19th century in soft red bricks but the lean to roof had lost its covering. Internal flight to first floor of malthouse and in eaves storage. <7>