History
The business that became Cliff Brewery was started in 1723 ( in Kings Quay Street, Harwich) by Thomas Cobbold and is believed to be the second oldest independent brewery in England. It stood above the quays of the River Orwell at Ipswich, since 1746. The Cobbolds have an important status in Ipswich as the family were landowners in the town and surrounding area. Christchurch Park was donated to "The people of Ipswich" by the family, along with many other donations of land such as Ipswich Racecourse. The family also provided several Members of Parliament for Ipswich over the years. In addition they have provided five chairmen of Ipswich Town Football Club, Lady Blanche Cobbold was President of the Club for many years, ITFC have even named part of a stand in their stadium and a prestigious member's club after the Cobbold family.
Eventually Cobbold merged with local rival, Tollemache Breweries in 1957 to form Tolly Cobbold. The brewery ceased operations in 2002, when the Tolly Cobbold company merged with Ridley's brewery. The site has been abandoned ever since and is now in a pretty poor state no thanks to copper thieves and the effects of nature.
The explore
During a flying visit to Essex the last thing i thought i would have time to partake in would be a spot of mooching. However, opportunity knocked and a few enjoyable hours were passed at this fine building. Having come to Tolly's two years ago and had my entrance scuppered by a BT bod and van, who managed to redefine the meaning 'a long lunch break', the site had been on my wish list for sometime. With BT bod having now completed his lunch break, only my good self made entry a hell of a lot harder than it needed to be
.
Having left my DSLR at home because of my wish to travel light, my 'just in case' point and shoot was given a rare outing instead...
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6. The original copper sugar dissolving vessel from the original Harwich Brewery from 1723 can be seen top right.
Much of the original buildings were used as a museum from 1989 until closure in 2002 (hence label on the copper vessel), whilst brewing continued on a reduced scale in the modern buildings at the back of the site (partly now demolished).
7. The top of the sugar dissolving vessel.
8.
9.
10. There's something beautiful about layers of pigeon plop, don't you think?
11.
12.
13.
14.
15. I'm going for the unframed brewery prints...
16. Love the roof detail with the finial.
17. Time for a pint after a thirsty mooch... only The Brewery Tap is closed at this lunchtime
18. Now, if you think this reports bullshit, have one of these...
Thanks for looking folks!
The business that became Cliff Brewery was started in 1723 ( in Kings Quay Street, Harwich) by Thomas Cobbold and is believed to be the second oldest independent brewery in England. It stood above the quays of the River Orwell at Ipswich, since 1746. The Cobbolds have an important status in Ipswich as the family were landowners in the town and surrounding area. Christchurch Park was donated to "The people of Ipswich" by the family, along with many other donations of land such as Ipswich Racecourse. The family also provided several Members of Parliament for Ipswich over the years. In addition they have provided five chairmen of Ipswich Town Football Club, Lady Blanche Cobbold was President of the Club for many years, ITFC have even named part of a stand in their stadium and a prestigious member's club after the Cobbold family.
Eventually Cobbold merged with local rival, Tollemache Breweries in 1957 to form Tolly Cobbold. The brewery ceased operations in 2002, when the Tolly Cobbold company merged with Ridley's brewery. The site has been abandoned ever since and is now in a pretty poor state no thanks to copper thieves and the effects of nature.
The explore
During a flying visit to Essex the last thing i thought i would have time to partake in would be a spot of mooching. However, opportunity knocked and a few enjoyable hours were passed at this fine building. Having come to Tolly's two years ago and had my entrance scuppered by a BT bod and van, who managed to redefine the meaning 'a long lunch break', the site had been on my wish list for sometime. With BT bod having now completed his lunch break, only my good self made entry a hell of a lot harder than it needed to be
.Having left my DSLR at home because of my wish to travel light, my 'just in case' point and shoot was given a rare outing instead...
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. The original copper sugar dissolving vessel from the original Harwich Brewery from 1723 can be seen top right.
Much of the original buildings were used as a museum from 1989 until closure in 2002 (hence label on the copper vessel), whilst brewing continued on a reduced scale in the modern buildings at the back of the site (partly now demolished).
7. The top of the sugar dissolving vessel.
8.
9.
10. There's something beautiful about layers of pigeon plop, don't you think?
11.
12.
13.
14.
15. I'm going for the unframed brewery prints...
16. Love the roof detail with the finial.
17. Time for a pint after a thirsty mooch... only The Brewery Tap is closed at this lunchtime
18. Now, if you think this reports bullshit, have one of these...
Thanks for looking folks!
