The Red Lion Brewery was an English

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

located in

East Smithfield East Smithfield is a small locality in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, east London, and also a short street, a part of the A1203 road. Once broader in scope, the name came to apply to the part of the ancient parish of St Botolph without ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. It was believed to have been established around the 15th century, and closed in 1934.

Location

The brewery was located close to the north bank of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

, on St Catharine's (today St Katharine's Way), and south of Burr Street (today Burr Close). The site survived 19th century dock developments, becoming situated between

St Katharine Docks St Katharine Docks is a former dock in the St Katherine and Wapping ward of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies in the East End of London, East End on the north bank of the River Thames, immediately downstream of the Tower of London an ...

and the western (Hermitage) basin of the

London Docks The London Docks were one of several sets of docks in the historic Port of London. They were constructed in Wapping, downstream from the City of London between 1799 and 1815, at a cost exceeding £5½ million. Traditionally ships had d ...

. Barnard (1890) described how "sturdy

porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., a locom ...

s" carried sacks of

malt Malt is any cereal grain that has been made to germinate by soaking in water and then stopped from germinating further by drying with hot air, a process known as "malting". Malted grain is used to make beer, whisky, malted milk, malt vinegar, ...

from Hoare's wharf to the warehouses in the brewery buildings: "We counted forty of these men ... each one bringing his sack of malt (weighing about one-and-a-half

hundredweight The hundredweight (abbreviation: cwt), formerly also known as the centum weight or quintal, is a British imperial and United States customary unit of weight or mass. Its value differs between the United States customary and British imperial sy ...

) from the barge and depositing the contents in the warehouse".

Early history

It is not known exactly when the brewery was founded, but it is believed to date back to the 'beerhouses' referred to in

John Stow John Stow (''also'' Stowe; 1524/25 – 5 April 1605) was an English historian and antiquarian. He wrote a series of chronicles of History of England, English history, published from 1565 onwards under such titles as ''The Summarie of Englyshe C ...

's Survey of England (1597). It is understood to be the beerhouse referred to as 'the Lyon' in a license given to the brewer John Merchant in 1492, for the export of 'ale'. Through the Elizabethan era the brewery appears to have been part owned by the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

, as well as at various times, the Poine, Long, Harrison, and Deane families, before being gifted by

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

to her

favourite A favourite was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In Post-classical Europe, post-classical and Early modern Europe, early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated signifi ...

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (24 June 1532 – 4 September 1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for the queen's hand for many years. Dudley's youth was ove ...

. After Dudley's death the brewery was eventually consolidated into the ownership of James Desmaistres.

Parsons family

James Desmaistres employed a brewer named John Parsons, a member of the

Worshipful Company of Brewers The Worshipful Company of Brewers is one of the ancient livery companies of the City of London. History London brewers are known to have organised as a group in the 13th century. Its first royal charter was granted by Henry VI in 1438. In 16 ...

. Parsons rented the brewery from Desmaistres for 39 years for £44 per annum, leasing the Red Lion Brewery premises, but owning the Red Lion Brewery business. Desmaistres passed on his share in the brewery premises to the Hoste family via inheritance through a daughter. Four generations of the Parsons family brewed at the Red Lion brewery. John's son, John Parsons Jr, leveraged his position to become commissioner of

victualling In the age of sail, arming or victualling a war ship, or war vessel had the meaning of equipping the ships with all the materials to navigate and the " victuals" necessary for the crew to subsist. So, in addition to the rigging (masts, sails and ...

for the Royal Navy. He also became master of the Worshipful Company of Brewers and later

Lord Mayor of the City of London Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

. He was knighted by James II. John Parsons Jr's son,

Humphrey Parsons Humphrey Parsons ( – ) was an English merchant and Tories (British political party), Tory politician who twice served as Lord Mayor of London in 1730 and 1740. He also sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain, British House of Commons fro ...

, took over the brewing business in 1717. Humphrey Parsons obtained the patronage of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

of France, whom he supplied with his

Porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., a locom ...

known as "Parsons' Black Champagne". The porter obtained fame all over London, and was mentioned in Oliver Goldsmith's poem, "Description Of An Author's Bedchamber". Humphrey became a Member of Parliament and twice Lord Mayor of the City of London.

Hoare & Co.

The Goodwyne family became owners of the Red Lion Brewery business around 1779, having acquired it from the Parsons family. However, the Hoare family became co-owners of the business in 1802, as the junior partners. The Hoare family were bankers, and owners of C. Hoare & Co. At the time it was fashionable for banks to own breweries as a means of stabilising income (for example,

Guinness Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...

beer, and Guinness Bank). In 1825, the Hoare family were sole owners of the Red Lion Brewery business, and by 1833, the Hoare family co-owned the Red Lion Brewery premises with Frederick Woodbridge. At various times the brewery traded under the name Hoare & Co. and used the Toby Jug as their trademark. In 1924, Hoare & Co purchased a separate brewery, the

Lion Brewery Co Lion Brewery Co is a British heritage brewery that was founded in 1836 in Lambeth, London. For over a hundred years, the brewery shipped its heavily-hopped ales to trading posts and ports across the seas. It was one of the main exporters of be ...

in Lambeth.

Charrington & Co. Ltd

In 1933, Charrington & Co. purchased Hoare and Co.'s Red Lion Brewery and production ceased a year later in 1934. There is essentially no surviving trace of the Red Lion Brewery building, as the site is now covered by the South Quay housing estate. It is believed the broad entrance arch on St Katherine's Way may mark the old entry site into the brewery, and a small narrow alleyway nearby is marked "Alderman Stairs" referring to Humphrey Parsons.

References

Breweries in England Breweries in London Defunct breweries of the United Kingdom Hoare family {{coord missing, London