Royal Oak Breweries
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Royal Oak Breweries opened in 1877. Originally only a pub, the rest of the brewery was added at later dates.
Whitbreads brewed the last batch of beer here in 1957 and when the brewery finally closed.
Since the closure of the brewery the site has been occupied by various businesses over the years including the Mineral Water Manufactory.
The site is currently being converted by Equity Housing Group into 51residetial flats. With plans to demolish the entire site and build from scratch.
The inside has been completely gutted and I mean gutted. There are no traces of it ever being a brewery, which is a shame.
After searching every room and floor the only things we found there were a washing machine and fridge in what appears to of once been the kitchen or canteen area.
Since myself and Cyclone explored here in 2007 it seems Equity Housing have not wasted any time with starting the conversion.
The catwalk and loading bay with glass roof have now been demolished.
The old engine room has also fallen victim to the demolition ball as well. With the entire roof being ripped off.
Since our original visit things have changed considerably. The chimney which was to stay has since been demolished along with the old factory section.
It will be curious to see how the final development turns out though. Its just a shame that the key features that made the brewery have been destroyed in the process.
To be fair though the brewery has been derelict for some years so redevelopment was expected.
Its just a pity the brewery couldnt of been restored and turned into a heritage museum of some kind. Like the Hat Works a few hundred yards down the road.
In terms of exploring it wasnt anything special, it was like any other derelict site in the country, dangerous, dilapidated and a target for vandals.
I think the only reason we explored it was because of its local significance and the fact that it was being demolished.
