Burton on Trent in East Staffordshire - A Potted History of the Town

Burton on Trent in East Staffordshire - A Potted History of the Town. Burton upon Trent, also identified as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a large town spanning the River Trent in the east of Staffordshire, England. The people of Burton are known as "Burtonians".

Burton is well known for its brewing heritage, home to 12 breweries in its heyday. It in the beginning grew up in Burton-on-Trent Abbey, the monastery of Saint Modwen, and had expanded into a busy market town by the early modern era. Although Burton's great bridge across the Trent was in poor repair by the early 1500s it served as "a comen passage to and fro many countries to the grett releff and comfort of travellyng people", according to the abbot. The town, which had an estimated population of 64,449 according to the 2001 Census, lies inside the National Forest.

There is an amount of uncertainty as to if Burton is based in the West Midlands or the East Midlands, even though all of the urban centre is south-west of the River Dove, which forms the Derbyshire/Staffordshire border. This is probably because it was previously within the East Midlands Utility (electricity and gas) areas, and has Derbyshire postcodes (DE13-DE15).

For hundreds of years, Burton on trent has been linked with the brewing industry. This is due to the quality of the local water, which contains a high percentage of dissolved salts, mostly caused by the gypsum in the nearby hills. This allowed a larger percentage of hops, a natural preservative, to be included in the beer, thus allowing the beer to be shipped greater distances. A good deal of the open land within and around the town is protected from chemical treatment to help preserve this water quality.

The opening of the River Trent Navigation at the start of the 18th century allowed Burton ales to be transported to Hull, and to Prussia and on to the Baltic Sea, as well as London where it was being sold in 1712. Several breweries opened in the latter half of the 18th century to seize benefit of this trade. The Napoleonic blockade brought this to a stop, leading to some consolidation and a redirection of the business to London and Lancashire via canals. When Burton brewers succeeded in duplicating the Pale ale created in London, the advantage of the water’s qualities allowed the expansion of the trade of Burton India Pale Ale (an ale particularly brewed to store for the duration of the lengthy sea voyage to India). The construction of rail links to Liverpool enabled brewers to export their beer all through the British Empire.

Burton on trent came to dictate this trade, and at its pinnacle 25% of all beer sold in Britain was produced in Burton on Trent. In the second part of the 19th century there was a progression in native breweries, supplemented by outside brewing companies moving into the area so that more than 30 breweries were recorded in 1880. Nonetheless at the commencement of the 20th century there was a fall in beer sales causing lots of breweries to fold, unhelped by the Liberal government’s anti-drinking attitudes. This time however, no fresh markets were found and as a result the breweries shrank by shutting down and consolidation from 20 in 1900 to 8 in 1928. A further course of action of mergers and buy-outs resulted in three key breweries remaining by 1980: Bass, Ind Coopes and Marstons. In the present day, just Burton Bridge brewery remains as an independent brewer.

The town's connection with the brewing industry is celebrated by a sculpture of the Burton Cooper, which is currently housed in the Coopers Square shopping centre in the middle of the town.. Article Source: http://arsharing.com

Article title: Burton on Trent in East Staffordshire - A Potted History of the Town By: Sherie Woody

For more information about www.inburton.co.uk'>Burton on Trent, visit www.inburton.co.uk

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