Memories of Worksop brewery

He was brought up in Broomhill from 1923 to 1935 and remembers the so-called ‘beer-offs’ on a lot of the street corners.

Mr Marsden, of Royal Court, Worksop, said: “I can remember my dad sending me to the ‘Top Shop’ as we called it, with a large Whiteways cider bottle and ask for three gills of Worksop Beer, and no other!”

“I also had to be sure that the sticky label which was placed over the stopper was unbroken, in case a policeman stopped me.”

“The local police station was just a few yards away on the adjoining Spooner Road and we were all aware of the law!”

Continuing with the beer theme, this week’s photo is of Worksop and Retford Brewery Co Ltd.

The brewery offices on Victoria Square were built in 1882, soon after the formation of the company in 1881.

The managing director was called Mr R H Allen and he lived at Hemingfield House, on Carlton Road.

In March 1914 there was a fire at his home which caused serious damage.

It had only been built a few years earlier.

Worksop and Retford Brewery Company was acquired by Tennant Brothers of Sheffield in 1959 with 192 public houses.