The Abbey Brewery Malmesbury
Photograph by Tristan Forward

Presumably a brewery was originally here to serve the monastery. The present building dates from 1672 with a 19th Century facade and was restored by Malmesbury Preservation Trust in the late 1980s. The North elevation has two storeys, the overhanging first floor supported by five stone columns with slightly tapering shafts. The brewery, owned by J.S. Ady in 1845, was later taken over by Luce's [the Maltings]. When it had been used as a brewery, the Maltster would dry clothes overnight for 1d. Edgar Farrow (b1841), Luce Brewery's manager lived in Brewery House. When the business was sold to the Stroud Brewery they sold the House and used the old brewery as a Sales Office where the Manager, Mr. E. Marmont was liberal with his samples. Apparently ginger beer and lemonade were also stocked here. The Stroud Brewery closed its office in 1941 but continued to expand elsewhere. By 1928 it owned 420 pubs and merged with another company to form West Country Brewery in 1959 which was swallowed up by Whitbread in 1967.

Source: Charles Vernon