The following is a list of defunct breweries in Avon & Somerset which we believe to have been in existence at some point. Where possible, the closure year has been given, although this may have been lost in the fullness of time, as memories fade and accurate information may have been lost.

If you have any corrections or omissions, please email ku.gro.armac.nosiailyrewerb@rotanidrooc.tsewhtuos

A large number of CAMRA publications have been used in this compilation, including “Where Have All The Breweries Gone?” (1980), “Devon Real Ale Guide” (1990), “Moor To Sea – A Deon Real Ale Guide” (1993) and the “Good Beer Guide” (various years).

This page was last updated on 18 April 2024.

Ashcott

Isle of Avalon, Little Whitley, Stagman Lane, Ashcott, Somerset TA7 9BJ. Brewing began in 2008, using a 100-litre plant, brewing very occasionally for one-off events and local supply. Wessex Brewing were occasionally contracted to brew for the parent company Avalon Wholesale on an “on demand” basis. Due to a number of reasons, it proved very difficult to maintain regular contact with owner, Arthur Frampton, from 2016 onwards. By January 2020, they had ceased actively marketing their own branded beers and then the Covid-19 pandemic occurred. Avalon Wholesale and Brewing entered voluntary liquidation on 20th July 2022.

Banwell

Castle, Son & Woods, in 1850, the Banwell Paper Mill was converted into a brewery. Offered for sale in April 1905, and was bought by Henry King, with 18 licensed houses. The brewery was sold again in 1909 to Bristol Water Undertaking.

Bath

Albion, 5, Milton Avenue, Bear Flat, BA2 4QZ. Pico brewery who brewed just south of the centre of Bath, since mid-2016. They brewed up to four regular beers and ever-changing one-offs. All output was bottle conditioned and was available at a few local restaurants and speciality beer shops. All brewing had ceased by June 2019, when the owner went back to work in industry.

Bath Brewery Ltd, 13 Westgate Street. Registered in June 1889 to acquire six breweries in the Bath area. Taken over by Bristol Brewery (Georges) & Co Ltd in 1923, and brewing ceased.

George Biggs & Sons, Crown Brewery, 4 New Orchard Street. Taken over by Bristol Brewery (Georges) & Co Ltd in 1924, and brewing ceased.

Oakhill Brewery Co Ltd, founded in 1767. Amalgamated with Bristol United Breweries Ltd in 1925, and brewing continued until c1937.

Edward Palliser, Railway Brewery, 28 Lower Wells Road. Brewing ceased after 1921.

Pierce, Reynolds, Withers & Co Ltd, County Brewery, Batheaston. Registered in December 1904 to amalgamate six breweries and 36 tied houses in the Bath and district area. The brewery and 23 public houses were offered for sale in 1911 and bought by the Bath Brewery Ltd.

Ram Brewery, Claverton Street, Widcombe. A home brew pub taken over by Usher’s Wiltshire Brewery Ltd in August 1948.

G Stride, Albion Brewery, 8 Corn Street. Offered for auction on 18th July 1915.

Verse Brewing, 1a Piccadilly Place, London Road, Bath, Somerset BA1 6PL. This brew pub is believed to have started brewing during the covid-19 pandemic in mid-2020, producing craft-keg beers only on a Danish 1.5-barrel plant. However, due to family commitments, brewing had ceased by September 2022 and the pub had closed by early 2023.

Bitton

DW Parrett & Sons, closed in 1930.

Bridgewater

Ordnance City, Ordnance City Brewery, The Old Brewery Whitley Farm, Ashcott, TA7 9QW. Established in 2012, this award-winning 5-barrel brewery lived in a special effects workshop. The beer was brewed by explosives engineers and had been known to be delivered to local pubs in an armoured personnel carrier! All brewing had ceased by June 2017.

Starkey, Knight & Ford Ltd, 54, High Street, and at Tiverton, Devon. Registered in November 1887 as Starkey, Knight and Co and the name changed to the above in April 1895, when Thomas Ford & Son, of Tiverton, was acquired. Taken over by Whitbread & Co Ltd in December 1962 with 400 tied houses. The business was merged with Norman & Pring Ltd, of Exeter, in 1964.

Bristol

See Gloucestershire and Bristol.

Bruton

James & Son, taken over by Frome United Breweries in 1905, and closed.

Burnham-On-Sea

Berrow, Coast Road, Berrow, TA8 2QU. The brewery opened in 1982 and production was around five barrels a week. All the beers produced won prizes at beer festivals. 15-20 outlets were regularly supplied. Seasonal beers were also brewed. All brewing ceased by 2011.

Holt Brothers Ltd, founded in 1770, registered in 1895. Taken over by Starkey, Knight and Ford Ltd in 1957 with 67 pubs.

Chard

Mitchell, Toms & Co Ltd, High Street. Founded in 1825, registered in September 1891. The brewery was closed on 30th June 1926, when the business was transferred to Bruton’s brewery in Yeovil.

Clutton

North Somerset Brewing Co Ltd, registered in 1894 to acquire the businesses of R Lewis at Clutton and John Thatcher, Radford Brewery, Timsbury. The company was dissolved in 1897, but brewing possibly continued until 1907 when 7 tied houses were sold.

Compton Bishop

JJ Collings Cross, closed c1921. Some traces of the brewery may remain, incorporated in the buildings of a riding school.

Crewkerne

Crewkerne United Breweries Co Ltd, North Street. Formed by the merger of the Higher and Lower breweries after the former had been destroyed by fire. Taken over by Arnold & Hancock Ltd, of Wiveliscombe, in 1938.

Curry Rivel

Hambridge Brewery Ltd, Hambridge. Founded in 1780 and was owned by the Lang family until 1938. Registered in December 1933 as HM Lang & Co Ltd and re-registered as above in 1940. Taken over by Ind Coope Ltd in 1958, and the brewery was closed. The 40 tied houses were sold to Bristol Brewery (George’s) in return for trading agreements wrt Skol and Double Diamond.

Faulkland

Devilfish, Highchurch Farm, Chickwell Lane, Hemington, BA3 5XT. Devilfish began brewing in 2011 using a 4.5-barrel plant. Seasonal and bottle-conditioned beers were available. All brewing had ceased by February 2013.

Frome

Frome & Lamb Ltd, Badcox Brewery, Vallis Way. Registered in 1889 as Frome United Breweries Ltd to acquire the Bath Arms Brewery; Badcox Brewery; Castle Brewery; and Swan Brewery. The name was changed as above on 6th June 1955 when they merged with the Lamb Brewery Ltd. Acquired jointly by the Stroud Brewery Co Ltd and Usher’s Wiltshire Brewery Ltd in 1957 with 300 licensed houses. The Badcox brewery building has been demolished.

Lamb Brewery Ltd, Christchurch Street. Founded c1850. Registered in 1895 to acquire the business of T & J Bailey. 82 licensed houses. Merged with Frome United Breweries in 1955.

Hanham

Robert Francis Nurse, brewing ceased c1935

Holcombe

Holcombe Brewery Ltd, registered in September 1888 to acquire the business carried on as John Ashman Green & Brothers. Taken over by Thatcher’s Breweries Ltd in 1893, and brewing had ceased by 1904, although malting continued until 1930. The building is believed to be used as a garage.

Ilminster

Joseph Paull & Son, West Street. Taken over by the Oakhill Brewery Co Ltd, of Bath, in 1936 with 14 licensed houses.

Stocklinch, Unit 3 Manor Farm, Stocklinch, Ilminster. Established in 2012 in a converted farm building, Stocklinch used a five-barrel plant supplying a number of local outlets. The brewery was licensed to open for a few days each month, mainly at weekends, which compensated for the lack of a village pub. Sadly, the brewery ceased trading in June 2019 when the owner relocated to France.

Kenn

Kingston Seymour Brewery Co Ltd, Kenn Brewery. Private company registered on 21st March 1932. Brewing ceased before 1939.

Midsomer Norton

Welton Breweries Ltd, Welton. Registered in 1896 to amalgamate the concerns of George Henry Thatcher, North Brewery, and John Thatcher, Radford Brewery. Merged with Welton Old Brewery Co Ltd , below, in 1901. The name was changed to that above in 1906. About 100 of their licensed houses were sold to Bristol Breweries (Georges) Co Ltd in 1918. The company went into voluntary liquidation on 12th March 1919.

Welton Old Brewery Co Ltd, Welton. Registered in 1891 to acquire the brewery of William James Thatcher and Henry James. Merged with Thatcher’s Breweries Ltd in March 1901.

Minehead

Dunkery Ales, Edgcott Farm, Exford, Minehead, TA24 7QG. Started brewing August 2006. A 2 barrel plant supplied by Mossbrew Brewing Systems was used. It was reported to have closed late in 2007.

Nailsea

Edgar Thatcher & Co Ltd, Heath Brewery. Taken over by Bristol Breweries (Georges) Co Ltd in 1917 with 5 licensed houses.

W Hall & Sons, Lodway Brewery. Taken over by Bristol Breweries (Georges) Co Ltd in 1912 with 39 licensed houses. The brewery was closed.

Norton Fitzwarren

W Hewitt & Co Ltd, taken over by Arnold & Sons Ltd, of Taunton, in 1899.

Odcombe

Odcombe, Masons Arms, 41 Lower Odcombe, Odcombe, Somerset BA22 8TX. Odcombe opened in 2000, but closed a few years later. It re-opened in 2005 with assistance from Shepherd Neame. Brewing once a week, the beers were only available in the Masons Arms. Six ales were produced in cask and two in RAIB formats. The pub was purchased by Hall and Woodhouse (Badger) in late 2020, during restricted trading conditions for the hospitality trade. The brew plant formed part of the sale and the brew kit was removed to the Hall and Woodhouse premises in Blandford Forum, Dorset.

Pensford

Chew Valley, Sunningdale, Hillcrest, Pensford BS39 4AS. The brewery opened in 2014 using a one-barrel plant supplying the Chew Valley and surrounding areas. Production was suspended at the brewery premises in 2018 after the retirement of the owner; bottled beer and occasional casks were contract-brewed elsewhere, while a new brewer and new premises were sought. Nothing materialised, unfortunately, and the brewery closed.

Priddy

Barry Haslem, the Miner’s Arms. A home-brew house which was not a pub, but a restaurant, with beer only available with a meal.

Radstock

Coomb’s Breweries Ltd, Bell Hotel. Registered in 1894 as Coomb’s Clandown & Radstock Breweries & Hotel’s Co Ltd. The name was changed as above in 1914. Taken over by the Oakhill Brewery Co Ltd, of Bath, in November 1922, and the company wound up in August 1926.

Rode

Sidney Fussell & Sons Ltd, Cross Keys Brewery. Taken over by Bass, Mitchell’s & Butlers, in 1962, and brewing ceased.

Shepton Mallet

Anglo-Bavarian Brewery Co Ltd, Wells Road. Founded in 1860 as an export brewery. It was bought by Garton & Co, of Southampton, as a reserve brewery in 1870. The word “Bavarian” was dropped from the title during the First World War. Brewing ceased in 1921, but recommenced on a smaller scale in 1934 to supply the domestic trade. Brewing finally ceased in 1939. The building is now believed to be part of an industrial estate.

Charlton Brewery Co Ltd, originally called Berryman, Burnell and Co Ltd. Taken over by Bristol United Breweries Ltd in September 1937, and brewing continued until 1961.

Showerings Ltd, Kilver Street. Private company registered in September 1932. Brewing ceased c1951, when production concentrated on Babycham!

Somerton

Ord & Co, offered for auction on 28th April 1921 and was bought by Joseph Brutton & Sons Ltd, of Yeovil.

Stogumber

Stogumber Brewery Co Ltd, registered in August 1900 to acquire the business carried out by George Decimus Scutt. Brewing had ceased by 1920 due to financial difficulties.

Taunton

SW Arnold & Sons Ltd, Rowbarton Brewery. Registered in January 1898 to acquire the businesses of SW Arnold and West Somerset Brewery, of Taunton. Merged with William Hancock & Sons (Wiveliscombe) Ltd in 1927 to form Arnold & Hancock Ltd.

Blackdown, 15 Whirligig Lane TA1 1SQ. This brewery, due to number of reasons, didn’t manage to establish themselves and moved all plant into a disused farm building without water or power in October 2019.

Hanbury & Catching, Cannon Street brewery. Due to the retirement of the owner, the brewery was offered for sale on 14 December 1921, but was withdrawn. The brewery was closed in January 1923, with the 78 public houses bought by Starkey, Knight & Ford Ltd.

Kubla, The Source Building, Tower Farm, Dean Cross, Nr Lydeard-St Lawrence, TA4 3QN. The five-barrel brewery was formed in Nov 2012 in Tower Farm on Brendon Hills in Exmoor. Part of the farm was a former cheese factory. They produced four beers, which were available locally in cask and bottle conditioned forms. All brewing had ceased by June 2017.

Six Trees, Triscombe House, Triscombe, TA4 3HG. Six Trees began brewing in 2012 operating out of the old apple store of an Edwardian country house. Bottle-conditioned beers were also available. All brewing had ceased by June 2016.

Taunton Vale, Unit 1F, Hillview Industrial Estate, West Bagbrough, TA4 3EW. Formerly Somerset Electric/Taunton Vale Brewery, established in 2003 in the cellar of the New Inn, Halse. Taunton Brewing Co took over in 2006, led by the former head brewer from Exmoor Ales, Colin Green. The brewery relocated in 2007 and used a 10-barrel plant. At their height, 140 outlets were supplied, before all brewing ceased in 2011.

Temple Cloud

Mendip Brewing Co, founded in 1978. No further information.

Tickenham

Tickenham Farm, 25 Clevedon Road, BS21 6RA. The 10-barrel brewery was set up in 2004 and was the first brewery in Twickenham since the 1920s. The brewery supplied pubs and clubs within 25 miles of the brewery, including central London. It expanded into new premises in 2009 and planned to increase brewing capacity and introduce bottled ales. Unfortunately, all brewing had ceased by October 2013.

Wellington

Bishop’s, Unit 14G, Tonedale Business Park, Tonedale, TA21 0AW. No further information held.

Juwards, Unit 14G, Tonedale Business Park, TA21 0 AW. They started brewing in 1994 in a former woollen mill, using a 6-barrel brew plant. In 1999, a 10-barrel plant was purchased to allow further expansion. In early 2002, the brewery relocated to Dunkeswell, Devon, where the Juwards beers were brewed on a new purpose-built plant along with Blackdown beers. Sadly, all brewing ceased there by 2008.

Red Ink, Red Ink Brewing, Unit 8, Greenham Park, TR21 0LR. Formerly Master's Brewery, this 2.5-barrel brewery was established in the Woodyard pub, 5 miles west of Wellington on the Devon/Somerset border, in Summer 2014. They had established a core range of four ales. All brewing ceased by 2015.

Weston-Super-Mare

Epic Beers, The Brewery West Hewish, Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset BS24 6RR. Epic Beers was formed in 2017 on the site of the former RCH brewery (see below), with several original staff. Epic traded under two distinct brands. Pitchfork Ales were cask-conditioned and made with 100% British ingredients. The 3D Beers brand produced monthly specials using international hops in cask but some keg as well. They opened their first pub in Weston-Super-Mare in 2019. In 2020, during the pandemic, they set up its 'Beer Drive Thru' and national delivery service to help cope with the restrictions in place at that time. Sadly, they announced via social media that they entered voluntary liquidation in February 2023, citing spiralling energy costs and general raw ingredient costs as the main reasons.

Royal Clarence Hotel, (RCH), West Hewish, BS24 6RR. Originally the brewery for the bar at The Royal Clarence Hotel in Burnham-on-Sea, RCH Brewery had been producing beers of distinction since 1983, winning countless awards along the way. Renowned for flavour and quality, every beer they produced was entirely and proudly British. A change of ownership in 2016 led to the end of wholesaling, a name change to RCH Brewery and several additions to the beer range. Sadly, the brewery went into administration in mid-2017. A totally new company rose from the ashes of this well-respected brewery (see above entry).

RPM Brewing Co, 118 High Street, BS23 1HP. Established in 2015 and operating on a 10-gallon system out of the Brit Bar. They were looking to relocate to larger premises, but nothing materialised. Nothing was heard from them since before December 2018.

Wiveliscombe

Cotleigh, Ford Road, Wiveliscombe, Taunton, Somerset TA4 2RE. The brewery was established in 1979 and brewed beer continuously until the pandemic of early 2020 enforced the closure of all hospitality businesses, including pubs, bars and hotels. The company struggled on throughout 2020, providing bottled beers for delivery and/or collection. However, the trade did not recover sufficiently, and all activity had ceased by August 2021. The company went into voluntary liquidation in October 2021 with the appointment of Albert Goodman LLP as the liquidator. Their core beers were traditional British beers, mostly named after British birds, such as Harrier, Tawny Owl, Blue Jay, Golden Seahawk, Barn Owl, Honey Buzzard and Albatross.

William Hancock & Sons (Wiveliscombe) Ltd, registered in 1896. Merged with Arnold & Sons Ltd, of Taunton, in 1927 to form Arnold & Hancock Ltd. Taken over by Usher’s Wiltshire Brewery Ltd in 1955.

Yeovil

Brutton, Mitchell & Sons Ltd, 15 Princess Street. Founded in 1771, registered in 1891 as Joseph Brutton & Sons Ltd. Merged with Mitchell, Toms & Co Ltd, of Chard, in 1937, to form the above company. Taken over by Charrington & Co Ltd in 1961.

JD Knight, Royal Osborne Brewery. Offered for auction on 8th October 1907 with 18 tied houses. Taken over by Baxter & Sons, of Sherborne, Dorset, in 1912.

Mann & Co, 8/9 Wine Street. Taken over by Mitchell, Toms & Co Ltd, of Chard, in March 1925.

Yeovil Ales, Unit 5, Bofors Park, Artillery Road, Lufton Trading Estate, Yeovil, Somerset BA22 8YH. Yeovil Ales was established in 2006 using an 18-barrel plant. More than 300 pubs were supplied in the South West. As well as supplying trade customers, the ales were available direct to the public in a variety of containers. They produced a range of beers across the full spectrum of styles, although the core range consisted of Hopkandi, Star Gazer, Summerset, Ruby and POSH IPA before time was finally called in June 2022 following difficult trading conditions after the covid pandemic of 2020.

Other Selected Brewing Companies, out of Somerset

Samuel Allsopp & Sons Ltd, Burton-Upon-Trent, Staffs. Allsopp’s was founded in 1709, registered in February 1887, and merged with Ind Coope Ltd in 1934 to form Ind Coope & Allsopp’s Ltd. Formed Allied Breweries in 1961 after merger with Ansell’s Brewery Ltd and Tetley Walker.

Ind Coope Ltd, High Street, Burton-Upon-Trent, and Star Brewery, Romford, Essex. The company was founded at Romford in 1708, with the Burton brewery being established in 1856. It was registered in November 1886, and merged with Allsopps in 1934, and then Ansell’s and Tetley Walker in 1961 to form Allied Breweries.

Allied Breweries, 107 Station Street, Burton-Upon-Trent. Established in 1961 after the merger of Ind Coope & Allsopp’s, Ansells and Tetley Walker, and operated a small number of pubs in the Plymouth area under the name of Halls, who owned the Plympton Brewery, Furguson’s, in Valley Road, Plympton.

H & G Simonds Ltd, founded in 1774 at Broad Street, Reading, moved to Bridge Street in 1790. Taken over by Courage, Barclay & Co Ltd, of London, in 1960. Brewing ceased in 1979.

Courage & Co Ltd, Anchor Brewery, Horselydown, Bermondsey, SE1. The brewery was acquired by John Courage in 1787. They merged with Barclay, Perkins & Co Ltd in 1955 to form Courage, Barclay & Co Ltd. Taken over by Imperial Tobacco Co in August 1972.

Courage Ltd, Bristol Brewery, Bath Street, Bristol. The former George’s Brewery was the only Courage brewery in the south of England brewing cask ales by 1992, following the closure of breweries in London, Reading and Plymouth, and the sale of Ushers, of Trowbridge, with a management buyout.

Usher’s Wiltshire Brewery Ltd, Parade House, Trowbridge. Founded in 1824, registered in April 1889. Also brewed at the Sovereign Brewery, Bayswater, London, from 1890 until after 1919, when the relocated to Church Road, Paddington. This brewery was damaged by bombing, and the site sold in 1946. Merged with Watney Mann Ltd in May 1960, and re-named Usher’s Brewery Ltd in 1964.

Whitbread & Co Ltd, Chiswell Street, London EC1. Founded in 1742 and registered in July 1889. A new brewery was built in Luton in 1969, but brewing ceased here in 1975. Most real ales were brewed at the Cheltenham brewery (West Country Breweries below.

Flowers & Sons Ltd, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire. It was founded in 1831 and registered in February 1888. It was taken over by JW Green, of Luton, in 1954, who changed the name to Flowers & Sons Ltd. It was closed in 1968, when Whitbread merged Flowers with West Country Breweries, to form Whitbread Flowers Ltd.

West Country Breweries, 256 High Street, Cheltenham. Initially incorporated on 15th April 1888 as the Cheltenham Original Brewing Co Ltd, to acquire the business of JT Agg-Gardner, which was founded in 1760. The name was changed to the Cheltenham & Hereford Brewery Ltd in 1945, when the Hereford & Tredegar Brewery Ltd was taken over. The name was later changed to Cheltenham Brewery Holdings Ltd. They then merged again, with Stroud Brewery Co Ltd in 1958, to form West Country Breweries, with 1275 licensed houses. Finally, in 1963, they were taken over by Whitbread & Co Ltd, forming Whitbread Flowers Ltd.

JA Devenish & Co Ltd, 15 Trinity Street, Weymouth, and Redruth, Cornwall. Founded in 1742, and had 390 tied houses, with the Redruth plant trading under the name Cornish Brewery Company.Brewing took place at both sites until 1985, when the Weymouth site closed. Brewing continued in Redruth until 2004.

Watney, 91 Brick Lane, London. This was the brewing arm of the food, drinks and retailing group, Grand Metropolitan PLC. Most of their estate traded under the name Usher’s, until the Usher’s management buyout of 1992 brought Usher’s out of this large conglomerate.

William Hancock & Sons (Wiveliscombe) Ltd, Wiveliscombe, Somerset. Registered in 1896, and merged with Arnold & Sons Ltd, of Taunton, in 1927, forming Arnold & Hancock Ltd. Taken over by Usher’s Wiltshire Brewery in 1955. It may be in farm use today (2018).

Bass, Ratcliff & Gretton Ltd, 137 High Street, Burton-Upon-Trent. It was founded in 1777 and registered in January 1880. Further merged with Bass, Mitchell’s & Butler, then Bass Charrington PLC, of 30 Portland Place, London, who were once the country’s largest brewer, and owned over 7 000 pubs.