It was 60 years ago, in 1963, when Watneys started to take over Bullards and three years later it was announced brewing was coming to an end at the landmark Anchor Brewery in Norwich.
The beer would continue to be made at the Watney Mann brewery in King Street while the Anchor would be used for bottling…but by the end of the decade it’s leading role in the beer business was finally over.
The days of brewing in Norwich being big business and providing work for generations of men and women were coming to an end.
A few weeks ago we looked at Steward & Patteson which was also a target for Watney Mann. The Pockthorpe Brewery closed in 1970.
Today we head to Bullards – a world famous Norfolk name.
It was in the 1830s when Richard Bullard founded the Anchor Brewery near St Miles’ Bridge with James Watts. Following his death in 1864 his son, Harry Bullard, later Sir Harry, one of the best-known gentlemen in the whole of the city, took over with his brothers Charley and Fred.
Harry played a leading role in Norwich life and during the floods of 1868 he concentrated on looking after the victims with food and shelter. He was a local hero.
Under his control Bullards went from strength to strength, owning and leasing hundreds of public houses across the city and county.
Other members of the family took over following his death in 1903 and generations of men and women went to work at the Anchor and the Bullards motto was “Full to the Bung.”
Norwich was famous for its “big four” breweries…Bullards, Steward & Patteson, Morgans and Youngs, Crawshay & Youngs- they produced a huge range of local beers.
Bullards and S&P ran 930 pubs in Norwich, across Norfolk and further afield back in 1895 providing work for thousands of people.
By the 1960s Watney Mann was taking over and pint glasses of Red Barrel were being raised – best to forget Starlight – along with a range of lagers.
Today we can toast the smaller breweries operating and support them in what is still a tough world.
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