Shropshire Routes to Roots

Shropshire has always had some connection to the brewery industry, although it has been more famous for its malting. Most breweries were small, but they were able to satisfy the needs of many Shropshire drinkers. Some of the most notable were the Three Tuns at Bishop Castle, (which is still brewing today) the Coleham brewery of the Trouncer brothers, the 'Circus' brewery at Welsh Bridge, and the Crown brewery at Market Drayton. The largest of them all was the Wem Brewery, which started in its more modern form around 1870 and by 1898 had forty public houses in Shrewsbury and Wem. It was taken over in 1952 by the Greenall Whitley group and closed in the early 1980's. Hanby Ales now continue the brewing tradition in Wem.

Most small towns had a tannery, with others having it as a major part of their community, such as Ellesmere, Oswestry and Newport, where there were many tanning pits employing quite a proportion of the population. The main tanning agent was derived from oak bark and chippings, and was used both in that form and in a liquid form called 'ooze.' When this was combined with the other agents required, such as sulphuric acid and lime, one can imagine the pervading atmosphere of such a village. The tanner was an important figure in that he bought the local hides and bark and sold the leather to shoemakers, keeping the local populace well shod.