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Watney Mann acquired the buildings that were previously Morgans Brewery in August 1961
and the separate company Watney Mann ( East Anglia ) Ltd carried out
brewing from April 1962.
Following the acquisition of the remaining independent Norwich breweries,
Bullards and Steward & Patteson,
the former Morgans brewery was extensively modernised between 1969 and
1971.
Production was geared to keg beer including Norwich Bitter and Norwich
Mild - not to mention the infamous Starlight.
About that period the breweries of Bullards ( 1968 ) and S&P ( 1970 ) were
finally closed
down.
In 1970 a new building was erected to house a continuous fermenting plant,
it was erected on the site of the original brewhouse.
The Norwich Brewery Company was formed in 1976
and an attempt was made to reproduce the cask conditioned ales that
had disappeared with the demise of the other local breweries.
S&P Bitter appeared in Norfolk houses alongside Bullards Mild.
With countrywide lager sales increasing it was decided that the King
Street premises could not
meet future demand and closure was announced 12th January 1985.
Production ceased at the end of April 1985.
155 jobs were lost.
The brewery was completely demolished some 20 years later.
So ending a 400 year old tradition of brewing in the area.
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