Godwin's Durweston Brewery

Badger is not the only business to have brewed beer locally. A few miles to the north-west of Blandford could be found the Durweston Brewery owned by Henry Godwin. However, it is now more than a century since the Godwin Brewery produced its last pint.

Henry Godwin had a workforce of sixteen and, for the times, he must have been quite an enlightened employer. There is a newspaper report of a brewery works outing in the 1860s to the Bath & West Show for all his staff. Among his employees was a brewer, maltster, stoker, brewery labourers and a carter who distributed beer to the Godwin public houses.

Established in 1753, the Godwin Brewery remained in the family’s hands until it was sold to Hall & Woodhouse in 1898. Henry Godwin was unmarried and there was no younger family member to take on the business. At that time, the Durweston Brewery had an estate of twenty-six pubs.

When the business closed, Henry Colpitts Godwin ‘brewer, maltster & aerated water manufacturer’ hosted a farewell supper for his staff and gave each employee a cheque ‘as a parting gift’ the amount being in proportion to the recipient’s length of service. This was some 60 years before the requirement to make redundancy payments was introduced. The building that housed the old brewery is still standing.

Among the twenty-six Godwin pubs were:
White Horse Inn, Stourpaine,
Anchor Inn, Shapwick,
Half Moon, White Cliff Mill Street, Blandford,
Crown & Anchor, Wimborne,
Lord Nelson, Quay, Poole,
Woodman, Poole,
Antelope, Salisbury Street, Blandford,
Railway Tavern, Blandford,
Silent Woman, Wimborne,
New Inn, East Street, Blandford,
Harbour View Inn, Poole,
Castle Inn, Bryanston Street, Blandford,
Fleur de Lys, East Street, Blandford,
New Inn, Sturminster Marshall,
Royal Arms, Commercial Road, Bournemouth,
Fish Street Beer House, Poole.

(Illustration: White Horse Inn, Stourpaine - a former Godwin of Durweston public house)

Comments

True Lovers Knot - a Tragic Tale

True Lovers Knot public house describes itself as a traditional inn set in a picturesque Dorset valley in Tarrant Keynston. Yet, this historical hostelry is said to have gained its name from a particularly tragic tale and still to be haunted by a distressed former publican. This publican’s son met and fell in love with the daughter of the local squire. Because the young lad was not from the gentry they decided to keep their relationship secret from her father. Unfortunately, a stable hand saw the two young lovers together and told her father. Set firmly against this friendship the squire made plans to send his daughter away from the district. Not able to face up to life without her boyfriend, the young girl decided to commit suicide and hanged herself from a tree in the village. So upset was the publican’s son of hearing of his girlfriend’s death he too hanged himself from the same tree. The Tarrant Keynston publican had, himself lost his wife at child birth and now losing his son b

Tarrant Rushton's Nuclear Secret

Tarrant Rushton was a large RAF base used for glider operations during World War II. It was then taken over by Flight Refuelling for the conversion of aircraft for the development of aircraft in-flight refuelling. However, between 1958 & 1965, the Tarrant Rushton airfield had a much more secretive and less publicised role. This was in support of the nation’s nuclear bomber deterrent, as Tarrant Rushton airfield became a QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) dispersal unit. During 1958, contractors Costain reinforced the main runway and carried out other work to ensure the giant bomber aircraft could be accommodated. At times just a few miles from Blandford, there would have been up to four RAF Vickers Valiant bombers at Tarrant Rushton ready to become airborne in minutes charged with nuclear weapons. The bombers were from 148 Squadron at RAF Marham in Norfolk. As there was no suitable accommodation at the airfield, an old US Air Force Hospital building at Martin was used. At the time, the

Chimney Sweep Tragedy

Crown Hotel, Blandford is reckoned to be one of Dorset’s oldest hostelries. Yet its most tragic day, during a long history, must surely be when a young chimney sweep lost his life. The chimney sweep, who was just a child, suffocated and was burnt to death in a Crown Hotel chimney which had been alight a little while before. ‘His cries were dreadful and no-one could give assistance. Part of the chimney was taken down before he was got out.’ (Salisbury & Winchester Gazette 27th March 1780) The lad had gone up one chimney and attempting to go down another had become stuck. At the time children were used to climb up chimneys to clean out soot deposits. With hands and knees, they would shimmy up narrow dark flue spaces packed thick with soot and debris. After the 1731 Great Fire of Blandford it was realised that it was important to sweep chimneys regularly while many rebuilt houses had narrower ones. Smaller chimneys and complicated flues were a potential death trap for children. The sw

The Blandford Express

Search This Blog