Truman, Hanbury, Buxton and Co

Praed Street, Paddington in 2012.

Praed Street, Paddington in 2012.

1960s. Ben Truman.

2024. The former Director's house at the Brick Lane brewery

2024

2024. 'Tea Rooms'. See text

2024. 'Tea Rooms'

2024. 'Tea Rooms'

of Black Eagle Brewery, Brick Lane, Spitalfields, Middx., and Burton on Trent. Brewers

c1666 Business established

1694 It was owned by Joseph Truman, senior.

1721 Joseph Truman died.

1722 Benjamin Truman (1699/1700–1780) became a partner in the firm

1730 Joseph Truman junior withdrew from the firm.

by 1743, Benjamin Truman was the sole partner responsible for management of the business

1780 Having no surviving male heir, Truman put his entire estate in trust for his two great-grandsons, appointing as executor his head clerk, James Grant, who was also to continue to run the brewery.

1788 Grant became a partner but died in 1789. Sampson Hanbury then bought Grant's share and took over the business.

Hanbury subsequently brought in Quaker partners, taking the business to greater heights and establishing longer term family dynasties than the Trumans had been able to achieve. Over many generations Buxtons and Hanburys managed the brewery.

1808 Hanbury's nephew, Thomas Fowell Buxton joined the firm and went on to play a major role in the firm's future.

1853 Messrs. Truman, Hanbury, Buxton, and Co. mashed 140,090 quarters of malt

In 1862 there were 7 steam engines on the premises.

1876 Boulton and Watt were making a large pair of pumping engines for this brewery firm

1889 Incorporated as a Limited Company; public issue of shares; Truman, Hanbury, Buxton and Co was the 4th largest brewer in Britain

1972 Grand Metropolitan Ltd was formed from Grand Metropolitan Hotels Ltd by acquiring brewers Truman, Hanbury, Buxton and Co and Watney Mann, as well as other companies.

1989 The Black Eagle Brewery closed.

Black Eagle Brewery

Some of the brewery buildings are in use for retail and food and drink purposes. A grid of cast iron I-beams is supported by numerous cast iron columns. Lugs are incorprated in the I-beams to accommodate T-beams.

One source gives the construction period for the Vat House as c.1803-5, and the architects probably being James Young and John Brodie. The floor of the vat room is carried on iron columns with capitals supporting I-beam iron girders to support the great weight of the beer

The 1839 report below may or may not refer to this Vat House. It concerns an accident due to the fracture of a cast iron beam supporting a vat. The beam had been erected for 'upwards of eight years', which would put the construction date at c.1831.

Press Reports

1839 'ACCIDENT AT MESSRS. TRUMAN AND HANBURY'S BREWHOUSE.
On Tuesday morning, shortly after seven o'clock, a frightful and fatal accident occurred on the premises of Messrs. Trueman, Hanbury, and Buxton, the extensive brewers, in Brick-lane, Spitalfields. The flooring of the storehouses on the south-side of the brewery being out of repair, a man named William Ternauth, was engaged to put down some flagging in the parts out of repair. In this warehouse vats of an immense size, and capable of holding 150 barrels of beer each, are ranged on each side, resting on a metal girder or beam of immense depth and of substance, extending the length of the buildings and supported by strong pillars of the same material about six feet apart and about five feet in height. At the hour before-mentioned the unfortunate man, Turner, went under one of these vats for the purpose, as it is supposed, of taking thence some of the flags which had been placed there so as to be out of the way, and at the instant the metal girder snapped in two, and the ponderous vessel, which with its contents must have weighed upwards of 20 tons, fell upon his body and crushed it to pieces. At this time a workman belonging to the premises stood opposite, but fortunately at a sufficient distance to escape instant destruction, not, however, far enough to escape serious injury. A portion of the metal beam fell upon his right-leg, and severely fractured it close to the knee. An alarm was instantly given, and Messrs. Gow and Davidson, the gentlemen who have the principal management of the immense concern, were quickly on the spot, and instantly gave direction to have the contents of the vat drawn off. This was done as expeditiously as possible, but the quantity was so great (150 barrels) that before it could be effected and the enormous vessel tilted up, upwards of an hour elapsed. The body of Turner was taken from underneath, when it presented a dreadful spectacle, being literally crushed to pieces. The mangled remains were placed in a blanket and removed on a shutter to the Marlborough's Head public-house in the neighbourhood, to await the coroner's inquest. Cole was also removed on a stretcher to the London Hospital, where every attention was paid to him, and he is going on very well. The metal beam which gave way has been erected for upwards of eight years, and during the whole of that time, with the exception, perhaps, of a few hours after it had been emptied, had been subject to the same weight or pressure, and that it should have broken down at a moment when a human being was underneath it is as extraordinary as it is melancholy.
On Thursday forenoon, at eleven o'clock, Mr. Baker, the Coroner, and a respectable Jury assembled at the Marlborough Head public-house, Pelham-street, in the parish of Christ Church, Spitalfields, to inquire into the circumstances attendant on the death of William Ternauth, who lost his life, on the premises of Messrs. Truman, Hanbury, and Buxton, the extensive brewers in Brick-lane. After the Jury had been empannelled and sworn, they proceeded to take a hasty glance at the body of the deceased, which was in an outhouse, and which presented a most frightful spectacle, and from thence went to the store-room where the fatal accident occurred, to satisfy themselves as to the precise position of the vat which had caused the death of the deceased, as well as to inspect the materials by which it had been supported previous to the accident. After making a minute examination of the place they returned to the inquest room to hear the testimony of the witnesses. Previous to the first witness being called, Mr. Parnell, solicitor to the respectable firm, rose and said that both himself and Mr. Gow, a gentleman who had the principal management of the internal regulation of the concern, had attended by the desire of the firm, to give the Coroner and Jury every possible information in their power relative to the unfortunate accident, an accident which every member of the firm, as well as every gentleman connected with the premises, most deeply deplored. A number of witnesses having been examined, the Coroner summed up the evidence. He observed that the accident was one of those unfortunate events, against which no human foresight could provide, as it was evident the fault was in the iron itself, which could not be seen until too late, and not in its mode of erection: and added, that it was truly surprising, in a concern of such magnitude, that so few accidents occurred. It must be also be pleasing to the Jury to hear from Mr. Davidson, that the gentlemen belonging to the firm had given strict directions that everything should be done to prevent a recurrence of such an unfortunate event. The Jury expressed themselves perfectly satisfied with the evidence, and without hesitation returned a verdict of " Accidental death." '

1842 'INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS.— June 28. .... The paper by Mr. Davison, describing the "Well at Messrs. Truman, Hanbury, and Co.'s Brewery," which was sunk by Mr. Clarke, of Tottenham, under the author's directions, for obtaining a supply of water from the chalk, gave the details of a bold attempt to form an entire cylinder of cast iron from the surface down to the chalk, a depth of nearly two hundred feet, in order that the several kinds of springs might be admitted at the various levels. The work was commenced in a large land-spring well, sixteen feet diameter, and after the influx of water and sand prevented the men from sinking by hand, the process of "misering" was resorted to, and the work carried on under water, the cylinders sinking as the well was excavated. Several casualties occurred, which were met with skill and success, and the result has been, that although a less copious supply of water has been obtained than at the well at Messrs. Reid's brewery, which was described a short time since by Mr. Braithwaite, yet in the two years which have elapsed since its completion, it yields a good constant supply, and there are not any symptoms of sand entering the shaft.'

1846 'NEW APPLICATION OF THE HOT BLAST. (From the Aberdeen Herald.) Most of our readers have heard of the hot blast, and some of them are aware of the wonderful revolution it has worked in the manufacture of iron, and the large sums of money it is putting into the pockets of the patentees. It is curious that this invention, which owes its origin to the manufacturing districts of the west of Scotland, has not recently been applied to many purposes for which, now that they are pointed out, it seems admirably adapted, and that the applications should be made at this distance. Through the kindness of Mr. Davison, engineer of Truman, Hanbury, and Co.'s Brewery, we have had the pleasure of witnessing the effect of the hot blast in many important processes, wherein, we doubt not, it will ere long be found as eminently useful as it has hitherto proved at our iron-works. It was first applied under a patent taken out Mr Davidson and Mr Symington (son of the now recognised inventor of steam-navigation) to the purifying and cleansing of casks, which, combined with a very ingenious piece of machinery, performs in a most effectual and economical manner; but it has since been more widely used the deseccation or the removal of moisture from vegetable, animal, and mineral substances. ....'

1862 '"Truman's brewery," although no one of the name of Truman has had a share in its ownership for nearly a hundred years, is still the recognised name of the great establishment in Brick-lane, Spitalfields, close to the Eastern Counties Railway station. It covers 3 3/4 acres, besides premises of 4 acres in another part of London. With the exception of Reid's brewery the buildings are the loftiest for the purpose in London. At Brick-lane there is storage for 16,500 quarters, or 132,000 bushels of malt, and 650 quarters are mashed daily in the winter months, and as rather more than three barrels of beer are made from a quarter of malt the maximum daily out-put may be taken as 2,300 barrels, worth, say, £4,500, the annual trade of the establishment being nearly £ 1,000,000.
The malt is shot from the sacks into a bin on arrival, and taken thence, by a "Jacob's ladder," to the upper storey of the brewery. When required for use it goes through the crushing rollers and "grist cases" to the mash tuns, of which there are five, all of cast iron. Three of these tuns are sufficiently large to mash 160 quarters each, the other two having a collective capacity of 170 quarters. The under backs are proportionately large. The worts are then boiled in the coppers, of which there are six, four having a capacity of 500 barrels each, exclusive of the pan on top, while the other two, which have no pans, hold about 200 barrels each. The porter hop-back holds 800 barrels, and that for ale 300 barrels. The worts then pass into the coolers and the refrigerators, and thence into the fermentinq tuns. Of these there are six for porter, four of which hold 1,500 barrels each. There are others also, but of smaller size, for ale. The cleansing rounds, into which the beer then passes, are upwards of 1,000 in number, a single range of cleansing rooms being 364ft. long and 43ft. wide.
The beer is finally taken into the store vats and casks. Of the former there are 134, the largest holding 2,050 barrels each, while the aggregate capacity of the whole is 96,222 barrels. Upwards ot 100,000 casks are also kept for storage. The delivery department includes 140 of the most powerful horses, the stables for which, as is generally the case in all well-managed London breweries, are fit for the reception of the royal stud.
There are even steam engines on the premises, of, respectively, 50, 40, 12, 6, 6, 6, and 5 nominal horse power. About 7,000 barrels of water are used daily when the establishment is in full work, and of this great quantity about one-half is obtained from an artesian well, upwards of 500ft. deep.'

See Also

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Sources of Information

• Biography of Sir Benjamin Truman, ODNB