Building record 1244/7/1 - The Old Brewery

Cosgrove ‘New Brewery’ opened in 1858 by Daniel Warren who had been brewing in the settlement since 1840s.

{1} Cosgrove ‘New Brewery’ opened in 1858 by Daniel Warren who had been brewing in the settlement since 1840s. He remained at the brewery until his death in 1874. The brewery passed to Francis Desvaux Bull until it was sold to Phipps of Northampton in 1888. In 1903 the premises were being used as a store to support the agency at Wolverton, but in 1906 Phipps were transferring staff from Northampton to Cosgrove. In 1912 the agency was closed and in 1932 the brewery site was sold to a builder for £1,000. The building has since been used for a number of purposes including industrial works, offices and as storage. The buildings are due to be converted to offices and flats.
The former brewery is located at right angles to the Grand Union Canal with a flat gable ended façade facing the canal. The complex consists of three main buildings and a series of later industrial structures. The buildings are a mixture of stone at the lower storeys and brick - indicating that the brewery may have utilised some earlier buildings on the site. The buildings all have slate roofs.
The building adjacent to the canal is of stone construction and is two storeys high. There are four crittle windows on the south face of the ground floor and two on the north face, but there are no openings at the first floor level. The building clearly was floored over originally as there are the remains of floor joists on the interior of the north and south walls.
The building to the west of this was of two storeys and mixed stone and brick construction. There are three windows at each level on the south side and some blocked windows on the north face. The original windows in this building have all been replaced with modern plate glass windows. There is a door on the south face of the ground floor. The internal features have all been removed from this building.
The three-storey brew house was constructed of stone at the ground floor level and brick on the two upper storeys. There is an adjoining block of two storeys to the west of the main building. There is a single window on the ground floor and three windows to each of the upper floors - although all of these are replaced with modern plate glass windows, with the exception of one blocked window on the first floor. The crittel windows to the north and east survive on the second floor. There are several surviving features in this building. There is a brick barrel vaulted ceiling between the ground and first floors of the two storey extension to the brewhouse. Wooden boards were lain over the top of this to provide a flat surface at first floor level. A small fire place was located on the south west wall of this level - presumably indicating office accommodation. On the first floor of the main brew house building is a large circular indentation in the floor boards - indicating the location of a former mash tun or boiling copper for brewing. There are a series of blocked doorways on the west wall of the brewhouse indicating that the brewery originally extended into the area now used for a modern factory.

{4} Brewery built by Daniel Warren & later occupied by Francis Bull; group of 2 & 3 storey buildings set at right-angles to canal.

{5}{6} The brewery was in three and two storey buildings. These have stone lower storeys, brick above, and are surmounted by slate roofs. The stone building nearest to the canal with slate roof, was the malting. The brewery was built in 1858 by Daniel Warren and in 1875 had a 10 quarter mash vat, horizontal steam engine and refrigerator. Francis Bull was the owner from 1876 to 1888 when Phipps of Northampton bought the premises. Since 1932 the premises have been used for purposes other than brewing and are now occupied by a variety of small businesses.

{6} Photos.

<1> Ballinger, J., 2000, Cosgrove Brewery, (checked) (Report). SNN101162.

<2> Ballinger, J., 2000, Cosgrove Brewery, (checked) (Photographs). SNN108245.

<3> Brown M.; Willmott B., 1998, Brewed In Northants: A Directory Of Northamptonshire Brewers 1450-1998, (unchecked) (Directory). SNN100669.

<4> STARMER G., List of Industrial Sites in Northamptonshire (Various, Including N.R.I.M.), (part checked) (Catalogue). SNN1444.

<5> Northamptonshire Industrial Archaeology Group, 2001, A Guide To The Industrial Heritage Of Northamptonshire, Site 71 (checked) (Gazetteer). SNN104759.

<6> Northamptonshire Industrial Archaeology Group, 2011, A Guide To The Industrial Heritage of Northamptonshire (2nd Edition), Site 73 (checked) (Gazetteer). SNN107622.

Record last edited

Jul 7 2022 3:37PM