Bryan Brown, president of the Friends of Abingdon Abbey Buildings Trust, sets the scene
Heritage is a key factor in beer, brewing, pubs and the Abingdon Beer Festival, held at the Abbey Buildings from May 1-3. The festival is held in one of the most important heritage buildings in the country, the remains of the great medieval Abbey of Abingdon, founded in the 7th century. The existing buildings are over 800 years old, now nationally scheduled and Grade One listed.
Brewing and malting have taken place at Abingdon Abbey from that time, initiated by the monks for their own consumption. Up to a gallon (eight pints) a day were consumed – the amount we hope will be drunk by visitors to our beer festival! Shortly after Henry VIII’s Dissolution the remaining buildings were developed as the Abbey Brewery, including a major malt house. Beer continued to be brewed on the site for some 300 years until it was merged with Morlands in the late 19th century.
Beer of course has a rich heritage, with evidence of brewing from 400 BC. By medieval times beer had become a staple, often safer than water. Ale made with malt, yeast and herbs was distinct from “beer”, introduced from the Netherlands in the 14th century which used hops, first cultivated here in Kent. Today many established breweries have a heritage brew, often made from recipes many hundreds of years old.
We all love heritage pubs, buildings and time-honoured interiors of great character which feel so appropriate for drinking. Generally, we don’t like our pubs over-modernised. The favoured formula for many is heritage beer drunk in a heritage location.
The Abingdon Beer Festival is a tradition revived and organised with the support of Loose Cannon Brewery, itself a revival of the Abingdon brewing tradition. The festival is held in the remaining Abbey Buildings. Although the buildings are wonderfully atmospheric and include the only theatre in town, the Unicorn, there is much to do to make them more accessible and functional.
Like all heritage buildings they need to pay for themselves, so all profits from this beer festival go towards maintaining them. Our predecessor trustees unbelievably saved the buildings from demolition, and our Trust has owned and maintained them for over 80 years. They have developed into a very valuable town centre social and community hub, providing a great venue for weddings and events which include drama and music in the Unicorn Theatre.
We have been working for over 10 years on a plan to restore the buildings and we are now within sight of raising the budget of £5.4 million. Following a fantastic grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund of £4 million, and grants from local councils and heritage trusts, we are just £100,000 short of our goal.
So, do come and join us in these atmospheric buildings for an unusual experience whilst enjoying over 30 ales and beers. What could be better? – sampling some wonderful beverages and helping to save our precious heritage.
Also this weekend (Saturday May 2 only) is the Witney Beer Festival at St Mary’s Church. The White Hart, Headington will stage its festival from May 15-17, while the Perch’s annual Beer and Cider festival is on May 23-24.