Brewery Wall refurbishment begins
Work starts on Brewery Wall at Wallbridge
A £60k grant from Gloucestershire County Council has allowed work to commence on refurbishing and preserving the partially collapsed brewery wall that forms the edge of the Thames & Severn Canal in Stroud.
The stone wall, with its curious iron grille windows, was once the secure storage basement of Stroud Brewery’s three storey building.
Silt removal making way for scaffold installation
Wallbridge, long considered to be ‘The Gateway to Stroud’, was home to Stroud Brewery from 1760 until it’s closure and demolition in the 1970s.
First & second floors were bulldozed into the basement
Brewing beer supported many generations of families from the Stroud Valleys.
Stroud Brewery in the 18th century
(Illustration by Steve Roberts — Footprint Interpretation)
Visitor Centre Volunteers clarify & explain
In August 2010 the Cotswold Canals Trust opened a Visitor Centre in the former Bell Hotel opposite the brewery site.
Visitor Centre volunteers have since answered numerous queries & comments from tourists.
Such requests for information have often included phrases such as… ‘Why the prison windows — dilapidated wall — rampant brambles and buddleia?’
Council & community co-operation
Recognition of the structure’s historic significance led to the £60k contribution from Gloucestershire County Council for material and equipment.
This financial input has allowed Stroud District Council to deploy volunteers and local contractors to preserve and refurbish the wall.
Stroud District Council’s Tuesday & Thursday Volunteers remove & stack bricks
Sequence of work — keep up with the progress
Twenty separate procedures to achieve the full refurbishment
Click here, or on the icon below, to download an Information Sheet listing the processes
The sheet also describe two ways in which you might help!
Watch the work in progress
Click here, or on the screen grab image below, to view the Wallbridge Webcam
