The Allsopps come of an ancient family. One Hugh de Allsopp (or Elleshope) went with Richard I. to the Holy Land, and was knighted for good service during the siege of Acre. He married a niece of Sir Ralph de Farington, who presented Sir Hugh with certain lands in Derbyshire, which, for seventeen generations, the Allsopps-of-the-Dale enjoyed as their patrimony. Anthony Allsopp, who married a daughter of Sir John Gell of Hopton, sold the family seat in 1691 to Sir Philip Gell, his brother-in-law. Mr. James Allsopp, whom we have mentioned as being the first of the name who joined the firm, was a grandson of Anthony. He married a member of the old Staffordshire family of Fowlers.
Several ancient deeds, some of the early part of the thirteenth century, in the possession of Lord Hindlip, contain conveyances of land to and from various members of the Alsop family, the chief names mentioned being Henry de Alsop, Ranulf de Alsop, and Thomas de Alsop.
In Pepys’ Diary mention is made of a Mr. Alsop, brewer to Charles II. Whether any connection existed between him and the Allsopp family is not known.
Returning now to the history of the firm—in 1822 high import duties were imposed by the Russian Government upon English ales, and this fact led for a time to the almost total suspension of the trade which Messrs. Allsopp & Son had for so long carried on with Russia. The results were not, however, altogether disastrous, for the Burton firm now saw the necessity of pushing their home trade, and the ales which had hitherto been better known in St. Petersburg than in London came into considerable demand in the southern portions of this country.
An eye-witness of a banquet given by Peter the Great has left the following description:—“As soon as you sit down you are expected to drink a cup of brandy, after which they ply you with great glasses of adulterated Tokay and other vitiated wines, and between whiles with a bumper of the strongest English beer.” Burton ales then were of a very different character to the excellent bitter of to-day; Dyche spoke as to their strength, and they were so rich and luscious that if a little was spilled on a table the glass would stick to it.
At this time a brewer named Hodgson had the whole of the Indian export trade, but Messrs. Allsopp & Son, at the suggestion of a Mr. Majoribanks, brewed and exported ale similar to Hodgson’s. Their venture met with marked success, and for many years the firm held the {339} chief place among the exporters of Indian Pale Ale. The first Burton specimen of that beverage, many thousand hogsheads of which are now brewed annually, was compounded by Job Goodhead, Mr. Allsopp’s veteran maltster, in a tea-pot.
Space forbids a long account of Mr. S. Allsopp’s life. To his endeavours was chiefly due the bringing of the Derby and Birmingham railway system close to Burton. In both public and private life Mr. Allsopp was charitable to a fault, and greatly beloved. He died in 1838, and was succeeded by his two sons, Charles James and Henry. The latter, so long the head of the firm, is too well known to need mention here. He it was who took a leading part in refuting certain mischievous charges, which were to the effect that the Burton brewers used noxious materials in the manufacture of their bitter beer. He represented Worcestershire from 1874 to 1880, and in 1880 was created a Baronet. In the early part of 1886 he had the honour of being raised to the peerage under the title of Lord Hindlip of Hindlip and Alsop-en-le-Dale, having retired from the firm for some years in favour of his three sons, the Hon. Charles, George and Percy Allsopp.
A word now as to the breweries, which rank among the best and most perfect of their kind. They are three in number, and are connected together, and with the makings, cooperages, &c., by about ten miles of railway.
The New Brewery is an immense structure, no single building being in existence which has a greater brewing capacity. The union room is of very fine proportions, being 375 feet in length and 105 in breadth. It contains 1,424 unions, which can cleanse 230,688 gallons at one time. The union rooms, taken altogether, contain about 4,500 unions, each with a capacity of 695 gallons.
Next to the New Brewery comes the Old Brewery, and lastly the Model Brewery, which seems a mere toy compared with the others. It is used chiefly for experiments, and for occasional brews of stout and porter. The firm also possesses extensive maltings, and, it is almost needless to say, large cooperages, stables, &c.