New pages coming soon, see below
I hope this site will appeal not just to those interested in our brewing, and pub history, but also to those interested in the social history of the city, or as a starting point for further research on anything else on this site which grabs your interest.
I suggest you have a look at the Introduction drop down for more detail before exploring this site which, when finished, will list over 100 breweries, from large scale commercial breweries, to small beerhouses where there is some evidence of brewing.
This site mainly covers breweries from 1800 to the present day, with some limited information on breweries from 1450 ish on a separate page.
This site is;
Best viewed on PC or tablet, since I cannot afford a more sophisticated website.
Free to access by anyone who wishes to do so.
Welcome to my website. If you have an interest in the brewing history of this city, you are in the right place.
Cover photo with permission from the Brewery History Society
Who am I and why have done all this
I have lived in Bitterne since the early 1980s, having moved here via Sussex, Cheshire, and Kent. I am a life member of CAMRA and developed an interest in all things beer related in the 1970s. I am also a member of the Brewery History Society, and Association of British Brewery Collectables. I am not a historian, just an enthusiastic beer drinker (real ale of course).
Why? Southampton had a rich brewing history, but not much has been written about this industrial aspect of the city. You can find scattered pieces of information if you look, but so far as I know, no one has tied it all together. There is a wealth of information on local pubs but they of course may not exist without the beer producers.
How you can help
I almost wrote all this in a book, but a book cannot evolve, and I regard this site as very much a ‘work in progress’. Historians, archivists, local history groups, and enthusiastic amateurs and indeed perhaps living relatives, will no doubt have further detail which can be added so that this site grows to become as comprehensive as possible. Please email me to the address shown at the end of every page with anything relevant. To be clear, an email saying you used to get drunk in this pub every Friday after work (or something just as irrelevant) will be binned. An email saying that Mr Smith was brewing here in 1849, and with some evidence, will be gratefully received, and may be used in the updates.
Thank you for taking an interest and I hope you find this site useful.
New pages coming soon.
Those marked * will be on the Limited Info; pub breweries page.
Ascapart (Mettricks)
Black Horse, Shirley (Millard Brothers)
Cooper, William & Co
Dock Brewing Company (Frog & Frigate)
Ferryman & Firkin *
Hedgehog and Hogshead *
Platform Tavern *
Sadlers Steakhouse *
St Mary’s Brewery (love Lane)
Scovell, AH
Scrase’s Brewery Limited
Stride, William
Tap it
Union Brewery
Vine Inn *
Vincent & Elliott
Wheatsheaf (Quick & Norman)
White Lion
White Star Brewery
ALSO
Current breweries. Breakbeat, Dancing Man, Unity, Brewhouse & Kitchen, London Road Brewhouse
Limited Info; brewers
Pages added since October 2026
Acknowledgements and legal
I have made extensive reference to the following resources, both physical and 'online' ie facebook posts and web sites
Southampton reference library for the physical and online Street Directories, and their online, interactive 1856 and 1870 town maps
Southampton City Archives
National Archives
Southampton Sotonians and friends facebook
The book “Southampton’s Inns and Taverns" by Tony Gallagher
Books by Dave Marden; ‘Southampton’s Lost Streets’, 'Southampton's Old Kingsland & St Mary Street', 'Before Holy Rood' and 'Southampton's Chapel Area'
The Brewery History Society website and resources (BHS)
SEE Southampton
Bitterne Local History Society
The online British Newspaper Archive
Two works by Philip Ely; The Portsmouth Breweries, and the Portsmouth Papers.
‘Brewers Tales; making retailing and regulating beer in Southampton 1550-1700’, by James R Brown. (A BHS article)
Numerous websites
Legal stuff
I have compiled this site from freely available information in street directory entries, newspaper archives, free websites, and sources mentioned in the 'Acknowledgements' above. I have done this is good faith, but if anyone feels I have inadvertently infringed their Copyright then no doubt I will be contacted and we can have a discussion.
The Copyright to, and of this site which was created in October 2026, belongs to Paul Harvey. If you wish to copy or reproduce any sections for publishing online or through social media, or in hard publications etc. then please let me know with details of your intentions so I can consider if consent can be given. Unauthorised use in particular with a view to making money, will make me a tad upset and may mean I have to take action.
