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ALL ALE
6s
there—in a very small way—in the sixteenth
century. There appears to have been a demand
for Burton ale in London, during the reign of
Charles 1. ; although details are missing as to
whether the demand extended to the royal
palaces.
It is certain, however, that more
than one hundred years ago Burton-on-Trent did
a considerable export trade with the Baltic.
In 1791 there were nine breweries here, and in
1851 sixteen.
But at the beginning of the
present century, until the last-named year, when
the great Exhibition attracted all the world and
his wife to England, the breweries at Burton
were not all in a flourishing condition ; and I
have more than once heard my grandfather—who
spoke from personal knowledge—tell the story of
how the late Mr. Michael Thomas Bass most
magnanimously offered to " prop up" another
large firm, with the remark, " There's room
enough for us both here 1"
At present there are thirty breweries in
Burton-on-Trent, and employed in these are
some 8000 men and boys. After the opening of
the Midland Railway in 1839 the brewing trade
here began to improve, but it was mainly due to
the energy and practical knowledge ofMr.
Bass
aforementioned that Burton-on-Trent in general,
and the great firm of Bass are in their present
flourishing condition. In the words of Shake
speare, " He was a man ; take him for all in all
we shall not look upon his like again." Begin
ning as traveller to the firm, he was not long ere
-JftJ