West Country Ales pub tiling
These colourful brewery plaques are still quite a common sight in Gloucestershire and are taken very much for granted. However, they deserve far more recognition as these West Country Ales plaques are a reminder of Gloucestershire’s once proud brewing heritage. West Country Breweries were established in 1958 when the Stroud Brewery merged with the Cheltenham Brewery. By coincidence both the Stroud Brewery and the Cheltenham Brewery first started brewing in the same year – 1760. The date is recorded in the ceramic plaques. West Country Breweries were a large regional company with tied houses extending into Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire and parts of Wales. As a result, these colourful ‘castle’ plaques can still be seen as far away as Presteigne in Wales and Marlborough in Wiltshire. The distinctive ‘castle’ or ‘tower’ design was first used by the Cheltenham Original Brewery, and ceramic brewery plaques once graced the outside of their tied houses with the words ‘Cheltenham Ales’. After the Second World War the Cheltenham Brewery acquired the Hereford and Tredegar Breweries. As a result the company changed its name to Cheltenham & Hereford Breweries and the old plaques were replaced with the new, but similar, ‘Cheltenham & Hereford Ales’ design.
Size: 3178px × 4236px
Location: Marlborough, Wiltshire, England
Photo credit: © Adrian Weston / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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