A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX 



required for the brewery. From a printed 

 return for the beer tax made in I7OO, 11 a 

 copy of which is in the firm's possession, 

 Truman's Brewery appears third on the list of 

 London brewers, with 60,140 barrels, but 

 they are not placed among the six principal 

 ale brewers in London in 18067. ^ n a 

 return of porter brewed in 181314 they 

 stand third on the list of London brewers, 

 with 145,141 barrels. In 1886-7 they were 

 second among their competitors, having 

 brewed in London and Burton 500,000 

 barrels. 



In the residence attached to the brewery, 

 which was in former days occupied by mem- 

 bers of the firm, is the historic dining-room, 

 the scene of many a famous banquet graced 

 by distinguished company. One of the most 

 notable of these convivialities was that de- 

 scribed as the ' cabinet dinner' in the Memoirs 

 of Sir Thomas Powell Buxton. In June 

 1831 several members of the government and 

 other gentlemen came to look over the 

 brewery in Spitalfields and afterwards dined 

 there with Mr. Buxton, professedly on beef- 

 steaks cooked in one of the furnaces. The 

 company included the Premier Earl Grey, 

 Brougham Lord Chancellor, the Duke of 

 Richmond, Lord Shaftesbury and others, mak- 

 ing twenty-three in all. Brougham astonished 

 everyone by his versatility and the accuracy and 

 extent of his knowledge, being equally at 

 home in discussing Paley's Moral Philosophy, 

 the construction of machinery, and the points 

 of a horse. Since 1873 Messrs. Truman, 

 Hanbury, and Buxton have carried on a large 

 brewery of pale ale at Burton in addition to 

 their London establishment. In recent years 

 a great demand has arisen for beer in bottle, 

 and to meet this Messrs. Truman & Co. have 

 established an extensive bottling department. 

 The partnership business was converted into 

 a company in 1889, with a share capital of 

 1,215,000. The present directors are 

 Messrs. E. U. Buxton, A. V. Pryor, J. H. 

 Buxton, J. M. Hanbury, Gerald Buxton, 

 H. F. Buxton, J. A. Pryor, and Anthony 

 Buxton. 



Stow 13 says that St. Katharine's, a district 

 on the Thames bank east of the Tower of 

 London, 'was famous for brewhouses in 

 ancient times. One Geffrey Gate in K. 

 Henry VII his days spoiled the brewhouses 

 at St. Katharines twice ; either for brewing 

 too much to their customers beyond the sea, 

 or for putting too much water into the beer 

 of their customers that they served on this side 



the sea, or for both.' In the year 1492 John 

 Merchant, a Fleming, was licensed by the 

 same king to export fifty tuns of ale called 

 Berr. Pennant 14 says : ' Below St. Catherine's 

 on the riverside stood the great breweries or 

 Bere House as it is called in the map published 

 in the first volume of the Civitates Orbis.' 

 This was the public brewhouse where the 

 citizens of London could bring their malt and 

 other materials, and for a fee paid to the 

 government brew therein their own ales. 

 Pennant also states that the demand from 

 foreign parts for English beer increased to a 

 high degree and that in the reign of Queen 

 Elizabeth 500 'tons' were exported at one time. 

 The Red Lion Brewery, which stands on 

 the site of the ancient Beer House, can be 

 traced back to the i6th century. In 1705 

 the brewery belonged to Alderman Humphrey 

 Parsons, 18 who was elected alderman of Port- 

 soken Ward in 1721, served as sheriff in the 

 following year, and was Lord Mayor in 1730 

 and again in 1740. The following anecdote 

 is told of him in a contemporary journal : On 

 one occasion, during his mayoralty, he went 

 out riding with a hunting party which included 

 Louis XV and his suite. He was exceedingly 

 well mounted, and, contrary to the etiquette 

 observed in the French Court, outstripped the 

 rest of the company, and was first in at the 

 death. The king, observing this, inquired the 

 name of the stranger, and was indignantly 

 informed that he was ' un chevalier demalte.' 

 On receiving this information the king entered 

 into conversation with Mr. Parsons and asked 

 the price of his horse. Bowing in the most 

 courtly style, the ' chevalier ' replied that his 

 horse was beyond any price other than His 

 Majesty's acceptance. In due time the horse 

 was accepted by the king, and from thence- 

 forward Chevalier Parsons had the exclusive 

 honour and privilege of supplying the French 

 Court with his far-famed porter. In the year 

 1 802 the brewery came into the hands of the 

 Hoare family, and since that time has de- 

 scended from father to son without changing 

 hands. The Red Lion Brewery is of consid- 

 erable extent, consisting of a large range of 

 buildings facing the River Thames, and covers 

 7 acres of eround. 



J O 



The brewhouse is situated in Lower East 

 Smithfield and has a convenient wharf at 

 the river side. The malthouse is the most 

 ancient part of the premises, with its cross- 

 beams and joists of enormous thickness and 

 curious old staircases with broad landings and 

 quaint turnings ; the elevator or 'Jacob's 



11 Quoted Barnard, op. cit. 209. 



" Ibid. 210. "Sure. (1720), bk. ii, 8. 



u Hist. of Land. (ed. 4, 1805), 265. 

 15 Barnard, op. cit. iii, 53-4. 



172 



