Regent Brewers Building

Image: © Colin Vosper Taken: 10 Mar 2010

This shows the building formerly used as the brewing headquarters and brewery of Plymouth Breweries the company established in Stonehouse in 1890 through an amalgamation of 5 local brewering companies including Regent Brewers owned and run by Samuel Vosper. Samuel Vosepr went onto become the Managing Director of Plymouth Breweries. This street scene used to be part of Chapel Street and is now renamed and labelled as 5 to 11 Durnford Street. Close inspection shows a number of interesting features in respect of a building that has long since passed its sell-by date. The title of the old company can be seen in various locations. The shop front at No 5 at the left hand end of the building still has references to it being used as a winery and later as a shop with the name which can be faintly seen as 'The Five Loaves'. The other interesting feature is that the arched opening to the right of the lamp post was the access way into and out of the brewery and one can imaging the brewers drays trundling in and out of there and in the early day drawn by horses. Latterly, the brewery was owned and run by the giant company of Courage (part of Scottish and Newcastle) who were noted for having a freshwater well on the property deep into the limestone rocks .... one wonders if this was the reason why Samuel Vosper set up his original brewery at this location in 1890. Image Image There is an interesting link to one of the properties built by Samuel Vosper presumably with the profits from his brewery business interests. Image

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