Mortlake Brewery

Image: © Stephen McKay Taken: 14 Mar 2019

This building on Mortlake High Street bears the date 1869 although a brewery had existed here since the 15th century. In 1889 it was acquired by James Watney & Co., which later became Watney Combe & Reid, for many years one of the best known - if not always the best loved - brewing names in London. In 1959 the company closed its Stag Brewery in Victoria and transferred the name here, although the old name continued to be widely used. After a series of mergers the brewery passed to an American-owned brewing company, Anheuser-Busch Europe Ltd, who used the plant to produce Budweiser lager. After a merger with InBev, it was announced that production would henceforth be concentrated in South Wales and the Mortlake site closed in 2015; no doubt the development potential of this riverside location in a fashionable suburb of London was a major factor in the decision. The site has now been sold to a developer with plans to build 850 apartments on the site.

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