Early History
Batemans was founded in 1874 by George Bateman, a local farmer who sold his farm in nearby Friskney in order to rent a brewery in Wainfleet, situated by the railway. He bought the brewery equipment for £505 10s (roughly equivalent to £30,000 today); a year later he bought the lease for £800. Before he retired, Edwin Crowe, from whom Bateman had bought his equipment, passed on his knowledge of the craft to George and his wife Suzanna (who had had a little experience of home brewing). Crowe's expert brewer stayed on with Bateman for some years, despite his blindness.
In 1880 Bateman had earned enough from the business to buy Salem House, a Georgian building some 200 yards from the original brewery, and a new brewery was built in its coach houses. In addition to the brewing, Bateman bottled spirits, and his wife baked bread for sale.
"On Fair Day, which was held twice a year, the farmers would come to Salem House to pay for the beer their workers had consumed the previous six months. It was very common for this payment to not be paid in cash, but with meat and potatoes. Once payment had been made, we would invite the farmers into our kitchen for a massive feast. This tradition continued until 1930."
Bateman's son, Harry, went into the business, which he inherited in 1921 on the death of his father. The 1920s and 1930s proved to be a very lean time for the industry, partly because of severe restrictions on brewing that had come in during World War I, partly because of higher taxes, and a consequent decrease in sales. At one point Bateman had to lay off his entire workforce, but their resulting plight made him take them back; in order to find work for them, he expanded the business into building opposite Salem House — including a derelict windmill which was to become the brewery's trademark.
From 1970 until 1992 the brewery ran a line for the production of keg beers.
During the 1980s the company faced a difficult decision: half of the family wanted to sell up and half wanted to continue brewing. Chairman George Bateman, his wife Pat and their children Stuart and Jaclyn saved up enough money to buy out the family members who wanted to sell, and the company lived on.
Read more about this topic: Batemans Brewery
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