Burton on Trent in Staffordshire is known as Britain’s Capital of Brewing. Consequently, it is fitting that the National Brewery Museum (hereafter NBM) should be situated there. Sadly, the museum, in its current form, is under threat and closed to visitors at the end of October. It is likely that some fifty people will lose their jobs and it will also see the end of brewing on the site.
The buildings housing the museum are owned by, to give them their full title, the Molson Coors Beverage Company (hereafter MC). MC have sold their existing head office building in the High Street as part of a town centre redevelopment and, as a replacement, want to convert the museum building into offices for some 500 staff. The company wants its staff to remain close to their brewery site and the NMB site is, they say, ‘one of the few options available to us’. MC do however say that they are ‘committed to protecting this important heritage’ and are having discussions with both the National Brewery Heritage Trust (NBHT), the registered charity that runs the NBM, and East Staffordshire Borough Council. The Council has also expressed its commitment to keeping the collection in the town. Most of the collection is, in fact, owned by MC.
CAMRA has called on MC to reverse their decision. Gillian Hough, CAMRA’s national director for real ale, cider and perry campaigns, said, “The planned closure of the National Brewery Centre in October will be a devastating loss not only to Burton upon Trent but also to the nation’s brewing history. As one of the largest brewers in the world, Molson Coors have a responsibility to safeguard historical and educational facilities under its care. It is extremely concerning Molson Coors is putting profits over protecting Burton’s place in global brewing history. CAMRA is urging Molson Coors to reverse their decision, invest in the Centre in its current location and ensure its collections are open and accessible to the public.” Both Nik Antona, CAMRA’s national chairman and Tim Hampson, the editor of CAMRA’s on-line newspaper, What’s Brewing, are directors of the NBHT.
A local campaign has been set up and, on Sunday 16 October, hundreds of people staged a march in protest along the High Street. A Facebook group was set up and a petition launched, which attracted over 8,000 signatures.
Not everyone is against the move however. A possible alternative site has been identified, the Burton Heritage Centre, which is housed in the former Bass Town House in the High Street and the chairman of the NBHT, Dr Harry White, accepts the inevitably of the move and sees possible advantages. He commented, “We strongly support the proposal to move the archive collection to Burton Heritage Centre, in the former Bass Town House, in High Street. We believe this will provide a safe and secure long-term home for the collection and will also enable a selection of the items to continue to be displayed to the public. While this potential solution is developed, we will continue to work closely with Molson Coors to ensure that the collection will be safely stored and cared for until a suitable new permanent home is found for it.” His reaction to the protests was, “people want instant answers to some complex questions which are going to take a while to be resolved” and that, “the decision to close the site has to be viewed within the broader context of the current economic climate, and in particular the difficulties facing the hospitality industry.” Dr White also pointed out that the many paper and/or card items need to be stored in a humidity and temperature-controlled environment and the new site will provide for that. In the meantime, a project to create a digital catalogue of the approximately half a million items in the archive continues. It is accessible to the public at http://nbcarchives.co.uk/.
The most recent news comes for a report in the local newsletter, the Beertonian. Negotiations involving the three major parties involved continue, with all three committed to finding the collection a new home. In the meantime, the large items stored outside will remain where they are.
Membership of the NBHT is open to anyone who is interested in the future of the collection. You can find more information at http://www.breweryheritage.com/.