After having to cancel last year because of COVID, CAMRA’s National Breweriana Auction will return to Burton Town Hall on Saturday 9 October. This will be the 35th event. For those of you who have never been to a breweriana auction, read on!
If you ever fancied owning a slice of brewing history then this auction is just the thing for you. Run by CAMRA’s Games and Collectables section, the auction will be offering some 150 lots, including everything from mirrors to trays, wall signs, bottles and books. In addition, there will also be a number of private stands selling brewery memorabilia to add to the experience.
There will be local items from Burton on Trent, the home of British brewing, such as a Bass tray and a Marston’s Pedigree pump clip, plus a couple of items from Offiler’s of Derby who traded from 1876 to 1966 and once owned 238 pubs. One of the rarer lots is a pump clip from Holes of Newark on Trent. James Holes, a firm of maltsters, took on the brewery in 1885 and lasted until 1967 when they were acquired by Courage, Barclay & Simonds Ltd.
Given London’s brewing heritage, you would, of course, expect the capital to be well represented. There is a pirate from Truman’s (originally founded in 1666 in Brick Lane), an iconic Charrington’s Toby jug and a mirror from Courage; the latter two having a lineage going back to the second half of the 1700’s. And the auction wouldn’t be complete without a Watney’s Red Barrel item; in this case it’s an electric clock.
If you have never been to the National Breweriana Auction before, the auction itself is great fun to take part in, as well as being an opportunity to find some great bargains, many of which can appreciate in value. Of course, like any CAMRA event, there will be some good beer on sale all day (from a local brewery).
The event starts at 10.30am with the opportunity to view the lots and browse the breweriana stands. Bidding starts at noon and is normally finished by 3pm, giving a chance to have a final perusal of the stands before visiting some of Burton’s iconic pubs on the way home. Entrance is by catalogue (£3.00), available on the day, or £4.29 (including postage) in advance. Contact Bill Austin on 07789 900411 or at baustin1951@btinternet.com. If you can’t get there, postal bids are accepted; just contact Bill. The wonderful Victorian venue is wheelchair accessible – see www.gandc.camra.org.uk.
As we don’t know how the situation will develop during the autumn, we will be instigating a few new measures, including bigger spacing between seats and asking people to use hand sanitisers on entry. With such a big hall however, we feel comfortable that we can keep everyone safe.
Christine Cryne