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John Smith's Brewery

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79-754: John Smith's Brewery in Tadcaster , North Yorkshire , England, produces beers including John Smith's, the highest selling bitter in the United Kingdom since the mid-1990s. The majority of John Smith's sales are of the nitrogenated Extra Smooth product, although a cask conditioned variant is available nationally. A stronger variant called Magnet is also available in the North East of England. John Smith's Cask and Magnet are produced under licence by Cameron's in Hartlepool . John Smith acquired

158-600: A gas main and prompted the evacuation of hundreds of residents and divided the town in two. In early 2016, Historic England carried out an assessment of the significance of the Grade-II listed bridge to inform its restoration. The bridge was then repaired and widened, and re-opened to traffic on 3 February 2017. The area around the bridge, including the north end of the High Street, the houses in Wharfe Terrace,

237-482: A limited company called John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Company Limited, with Henry Herbert Riley-Smith as chairman . In 1899 the company acquired Simpson & Co of Market Weighton , with 51 public houses, and converted the brewery into a maltings . By the turn of the century the brewery was considered to be one of the best-run in Britain, "a byword for first-class management". In 1907, John Marples of Sheffield ,

316-504: A physiotherapy clinic. Tadcaster's community swimming pool, which includes a fitness suite, opened in December 1994; run as a charity. At the end of 2007 the pool underwent repairs costing £130,000, reopening in 2008; some fundraising was through a celebrity football match, one side of which was formed from cast in television soap Emmerdale . The route of Ebor Way , a long-distance walk from Helmsley to Ilkley , passes through

395-642: A bus service runs to and from Selby. Tadcaster railway station on the Church Fenton to Harrogate line closed to passengers in January 1964. The nearest railway stations are Ulleskelf , Church Fenton and York railway station which has a wider range of services and is connected to Tadcaster by the Yorkshire Coastliner bus service. Tadcaster lies on the A64, A659 and A162 main roads, and

474-410: A malt house in the eighteenth century, supplying the needs of local publicans, estates and home brewers. Malt houses are typically long, low buildings, no more than two storeys high, in a vernacular style. The germination of barley is hindered by high temperatures, so many malt houses only operated in the winter. This provided employment for agricultural workers whose labour was not much in demand during

553-507: A new brewhouse was opened, at the cost of £5 million. Production of Foster's lager began in 1987. In 1993, John Smith's Extra Smooth was launched in cans. It was introduced in kegs in February 1995, and distributed to 10,000 pubs and venues. It is a nitrogenated version of the pasteurised beer, which was renamed to John Smith's Original in order to differentiate the two products. In 2005, Scottish & Newcastle claimed that John Smith's

632-493: A projected York and North Midland Railway (Leeds Extension) line from Leeds to York. Construction of the line was authorised in 1846, and much of the northern section including the viaduct had been completed when the collapse of railway investment in 1849 led to its abandonment. Between 1883 and 1959 the viaduct carried a short branchline servicing a corn mill on the east side of the River Wharfe (Mill Lane area). The viaduct

711-448: A tanner. William purchased Samuel's share of his brother's personal estate, and built a modern brewery in 1883–4 at the cost of £130,000 (£9.7 million in 2013). By this time the business employed over 100 people. William Smith died in 1886, and the firm was inherited in partnership by his two nephews, Henry Herbert Riley (1863 - 1911) and Frank Riley, henceforth known as Riley-Smith under the terms of his will. The firm expanded throughout

790-513: Is John Smith's beer), and employed around 300 people in 2008. It has two keg lines, two bottle lines and one canning line. It currently brews and packages the ale brands John Smith's Original, John Smith's Extra Smooth and Newcastle Brown Ale , and the lager brands Foster's , Kronenbourg 1664 (Kronenbourg is a Carlsberg -owned brand brewed under license by Heineken in the UK), Amstel and Tiger . Slate Yorkshire Square brewing vessels were used at

869-588: Is a Grade II listed building owned by Tadcaster Town Council. The current bridge dates back to the early 1700s and was built, according to Pevsner, using stone from the ruined Castle. It was widened in the C19th. It is the main transport route connecting the town centre, which is divided by the river, and one of the town's two road crossings, the other being the A64 bypass bridge. The bridge partially collapsed on 29 December 2015, following flooding. The collapse fractured

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948-546: Is a large Methodist chapel of 1815, extremely plain in style, forming the central section, set slightly back, of a three-part symmetrical facade. Tadcaster is served by local bus services operating from Leeds City bus station . The town is a stop on the Yorkshire Coastliner service, which accesses the Yorkshire Coast. Buses also run to Wetherby and Harrogate and to Sherburn-in-Elmet . On Mondays

1027-678: Is a major sponsor of horse racing in the United Kingdom. It has sponsored the Northumberland Plate since 2003, and more than 90 "No Nonsense" race days are held throughout the year at 28 jump and flat racecourses across the UK. The brand has sponsored the John Smith's Cup (originally the Magnet Cup until 1998) at York since 1960, which is the longest running sponsorship in flat racing in the world. John Smith's previously sponsored

1106-585: Is about 3 miles (5 km) east of the A1(M) (Junction 44). Tadcaster has three primary schools (serving ages 5–11) and a secondary school (ages 11–18). In the summer 1999 league tables, Tadcaster Grammar School students obtained the best A Level results in the country for a state comprehensive school. Tadcaster has two main football teams, Tadcaster Albion and Tadcaster Magnets, Tadcaster Rugby Football Club, Tadcaster Harriers running club and Cyclesense Cycling Club. Tadcaster Tornadoes Basketball Team play in

1185-578: Is currently the Town Council offices. In the 17th century it was known as Morley Hall, and was licensed for Presbyterian meetings. Some of the so-called Pilgrim Fathers are reputed to have planned their voyage to America in the building; an exact replica exists in Ohio , US. The eleven-arch Tadcaster railway viaduct is 1 ⁄ 4 -mile (400 m) above the Wharfe bridge; it was built as part of

1264-512: Is the sixth highest selling beer brand in the United Kingdom and the highest selling bitter in the world. From February 2013, John Smith's Extra Smooth and Original were reduced from 3.8 to 3.6% ABV. According to Heineken, the decision was taken in order to bring the product in line with the strength of its major competitors such as Tetley, Boddingtons and Worthington. The brewery brews 3.8 million hectolitres annually (1.3 million of which

1343-519: The Battle of Tadcaster , a skirmish , between Sir Thomas Fairfax 's Parliamentarian forces and Sir Thomas Glemham's Royalist army took place on and around Tadcaster Bridge . A market has been held since 1270, when Henry de Percy obtained a royal charter from King Henry III to hold "a market and fair at his manor of Tadcaster". The ancient market place is at the junction of Kirkgate and Bridge Street. A stone base, believed to have been part of

1422-848: The Grand National between 2005 and 2013. In August 2012 John Smith's announced a five-year sponsorship of the Kirklees Stadium in Huddersfield , home to football team Huddersfield Town and rugby league team Huddersfield Giants , which was renamed "John Smith's Stadium". In December 2016, this deal was extended for a further five years. Tadcaster Tadcaster is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire , England, 15 miles (24 km) north-east of Leeds and 10 miles (16 km) south-west of York . Its historical importance from Roman times onward

1501-657: The Selby & Ainsty constituency until 2024. Following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies it became part of the Wetherby and Easingwold constituency formed for the 2024 general election . The combined population of Tadcaster East and Tadcaster West in 2003 was 7,341: 3,830 in Tadcaster East and 3,511 in Tadcaster West. At the 2021 census, it was estimated that over 6,300 people were in

1580-399: The brewing industry because of the quality and accessibility of the local water, which is rich in lime sulphate after filtering through Permian limestone. In the right conditions freshwater springs, known locally as popple-wells , still bubble up near St Mary's church in the town. Tax registers from 1341 record the presence of two breweries or brewhouses in the town, one paying 8d in tax and

1659-566: The "Big John" campaign, which ran in the North of England from 1981, and centred around a re-writing of the Big Bad John country music staple. Courage was able to demonstrate to an independent panel that the £300,000 campaign had resulted in a £5 million sales increase in the North. From 1979 to 1986 Gordon Rollings played the dour Yorkshireman Arkwright in a campaign that was only used in

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1738-433: The "No Nonsense" campaign, created by DDB . The Dee campaign was widely credited with helping John Smith's rise from sixteenth to fourth highest selling beer in the UK as sales increased by 65 per cent, and the brand overtook Tetley's as the highest selling ale brand in the world by 1995. The Dee campaign won fifty advertising awards, and helped to turn the rising comedian into a household name. Dee resigned in 1997, and he

1817-471: The 11th century William de Percy established a motte-and-bailey fortress re-using Roman stone. The earthwork remains of this castle, including the motte (known as Castle Hill) can still be seen adjacent to the parish church and bridge. The castle was abandoned in the early-12th century and was briefly re-fortified with cannon emplacements during the Civil War . The street plan south of the site reflects

1896-526: The 1880s by creating an agency network, establishing sixteen offices in nearby settlements, and offering free trade discounts on their beer of 20 per cent or higher. The brewery had an annual output of 150,000 barrels by 1889. In 1889, the company's first scientifically-trained head brewer was appointed, Percy Clinch, son of Charles Clinch of the Eagle Brewery in Witney . In 1892, the partnership became

1975-525: The Backhouse & Hartley brewery in 1852. Following a series of acquisitions in the post- World War II period, the company became one of the largest regional brewers in the country, operating over 1,800 licensed premises. The company was taken over by Courage in 1970 who extended distribution of the brewery's products into the South of England. Courage was acquired by Scottish & Newcastle in 1995, and

2054-605: The Bus Station and the Tadcaster Medical Centre, was flooded once again in February 2022. To the south east of the town centre, towards the village of Oxton, lies Tadcaster Mere. Designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1987, the mere is at the centre of a former lake basin that extended over an area of about 740 acres (3 km ). It was formed during the most recent or Devensian ice age , which ended 10,000 years ago, when Tadcaster

2133-513: The Leeds Basketball League (Men's). Tadcaster has a swimming team for young people up to the age of 18. (Tadcaster Swim Squad). Maltings A malt house , malt barn , or maltings , is a building where cereal grain is converted into malt by soaking it in water, allowing it to sprout and then drying it to stop further growth. The malt is used in brewing beer , whisky and in certain foods. The traditional malt house

2212-472: The South of England, and John Smith's in the North, a national brewing company was created. John Smith's bottled Magnet Pale Ale was selected for nationwide distribution across the group, and the takeover facilitated the wider distribution of Courage brands such as Tavern Keg. The Tadcaster brewery was substantially redeveloped and expanded throughout 1974. Courage closed down the Barnsley brewery in 1976 with

2291-517: The South. The campaign won a large number of advertising industry awards, and was featured on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson . After Rollings died in 1986 the campaign was continued with Arkwright's successor, Barraclough, until 1991. Despite its success, the campaign was not without detractors, with Deyan Sudjic describing it in The Times as a "spurious ... tripe-and-whippets campaign". From 1992 until 1997, comedian Jack Dee starred in

2370-486: The area is The Yorkshire Post . The local BBC radio station is Radio York , and commercial stations include Greatest Hits Radio York and North Yorkshire and Capital Yorkshire . Local TV coverage is provided by BBC Yorkshire and ITV Yorkshire from the Emley Moor TV transmitter. A leisure centre on Station Road provides for a variety of sport activities, and is the base for private sports clubs and

2449-490: The breweries it acquired, apart from Barnsley, where it invested in the brewery, and added production of John Smith beers to the site, as well as increasing the distribution of Barnsley Bitter. As a result of acquisitions, by 1967 John Smith's was the third largest regional brewer in the country after Courage and Scottish & Newcastle , with fixed assets of £30 million. Acquisitions diluted the Riley-Smith family stake in

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2528-401: The brewery from 1913 until 1975. Stainless steel Yorkshire Squares were in use by at least 1953, but were removed in the 1980s, and the brewery now uses conical tanks. By 1953, the brewery site occupied 20 acres. Wooden casks were still in use in the 1960s. The cask beer line was removed in 1976, but restored in 1984. A new canning line and a new brewhouse were installed around 1982. In 1984

2607-407: The brewery to David Backhouse and John Hartley in 1845. Samuel Smith of Leeds arranged for his son John to enter the business in 1847. Jane Hartley died in 1852, and John Smith acquired the business, enlisting his brother William to assist. The timing was to prove fortuitous; pale ales were displacing porter as the beer of choice, and Tadcaster's hard water proved to be well-suited for brewing

2686-631: The combined ward of Tadcaster. The local authority is North Yorkshire Council . Historically, the parish of Tadcaster was in the wapentake of Barkston Ash , and the wapentake known as The Ainsty , in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It was moved into North Yorkshire in 1974. Between 1974 and 2023 it was part of the Selby District . Tadcaster gave its name to a much larger rural district council, Tadcaster Rural District and other administrative areas. This may lead to confusion when comparing

2765-537: The company also began to bottle Carlsberg lager. By 1960 the company had an estate of 909 public houses. In 1961, John Smith's acquired the Barnsley Brewery Company, adding 250 licensed properties to their growing estate. The company acquired Warwicks & Richardsons of Newark-on-Trent , with 474 pubs, in 1962. Whilst some product rationalisation took place, popular lines such as Warwicks' Milk Maid Stout were retained. John Smith's closed down all

2844-475: The company to around 10 per cent. In October 1970, Courage purchased John Smith's in a friendly takeover which valued the company at £40 million (equivalent to £782 million in 2023). By this time John Smith's owned around 1,800 licensed premises throughout the north of England, and as far south as Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and parts of Cambridgeshire and Shropshire. The merged company held assets worth £137 million. By combining Courage's strength in

2923-486: The company's dray horses was retired in 1947. Horses had delivered beer to all the areas surrounding the brewery, as far afield as Pateley Bridge . From 1948 the company exported beer to Belgium where it was bottled and distributed by Tilkens brewery. In 1950 there was a general strike in Belgium, and John Smith's hired two Handley Page Halifax heavy bomber aircraft to carry 7 ton loads twice-daily of their beers into

3002-442: The country in order to ensure supply. In 1953 the firm became a public company , with fixed assets of around £5 million, 1,000 licensed premises and around 1,100 employees. In 1958, Whitworth, Son & Nephew of Wath-upon-Dearne was acquired with 165 licensed houses, and the brewery was immediately closed down. In 1959 the company began to bottle imported Alken lager at Tadcaster, in response to growing customer demand. In 1961

3081-610: The dour Yorkshireman character "Arkwright" during the 1970s and 1980s (shown only in the South of England ), followed by the comedians Jack Dee during the 1990s and Peter Kay since 2002. The brand also has an association with horse racing : it was the principal sponsor of the Grand National between 2005 and 2013, the Northumberland Plate from 2003 until 2016, and has sponsored the John Smith's Cup since 1960. Stephen Hartley began brewing in Tadcaster in 1758. Jane Hartley mortgaged

3160-466: The end of the nineteenth century, pneumatic malting was introduced, in which the barley is aerated and the temperature carefully controlled, accelerating the germination. Large malting floors were no longer necessary, but power consumption was high, so floor malting held on well into the twentieth century. Only a handful of traditional malting floors are still in use. All the following are Grade II* listed buildings, unless otherwise noted. The malt tax

3239-595: The foundations of the original (1699), although it has been substantially modified in 1736 and 1753. Then in 1791, John Carr built another bridge immediately above the 1699 bridge effectively extending it to twice the width it was before. Historically, the Wharfe marked the boundary between the West Riding and the Ainsty of York . During the English Civil War , on the morning of Tuesday 7 December 1642

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3318-401: The future stem began to swell, and the kernel became friable and sweet-tasting. As the germination proceeded the grain was spread thinner on the floor. The process was halted before the stem burst the husk. At this stage much of the starch in the grain had been converted to maltose and the grain was left on the floor to dry. The art of malting depends on the proper regulation of these changes in

3397-425: The grain began to swell and increase its bulk by 25 percent. The cistern was then drained and the grain transferred to another vessel called a couch, either a permanent construction, or temporarily formed with wooden boards. Here it was piled 12–16 inches (30–41 cm) deep, and began to generate heat and start to germinate. It spent a day or two here, according to the season and the maltster's practice. It

3476-411: The grain. Maltsters varied in their manner of working, and adapted to changes in climatic conditions. The grain was then moved into the kiln, 4–6 inches (10–15 cm), for between two and four days, depending on whether a light or dark malt was required. A slow fire was used to start, and then gradually raised to suit the purpose of the malt and the desired colour. The barley was then sieved to remove

3555-539: The highest selling Courage brand and the highest selling canned bitter in the United Kingdom. In 1982, the John Smith's brands included Yorkshire Bitter, Magnet Pale Ale, Export Pale, Sweet Stout, Double Brown and Magnet Old. In December 1983, John Smith's Cask (3.8% ABV ) was re-introduced, seven years after it had been phased out. By June 1985, John Smith's produced 1.7 million hectolitres (1.0 million imperial barrels) of beer annually. In November that year,

3634-459: The loss of 200 jobs. Barnsley Bitter was replaced by John Smith's bitter. Courage argued that modernisation of the Barnsley site would have required "massive" investment. It was reported in The Times that landlords were generally indifferent to the change, as the taste profiles of John Smith's bitter and Barnsley bitter were similar. After successful test marketing from 1974, John Smith's Bitter

3713-517: The mere, in particular sedimentary pollen studies, provides insight into the geological history and makeup of the local environment and allows accurate dating of events before, during and after the Devensian ice age. St Mary's Church , on the banks of the Wharfe, was founded around 1150. It was destroyed by the Scots in one of many incursions after the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. St Mary's

3792-631: The most modern bottling facility in Europe. The Magnet trademark was first registered in September 1908 in Brussels , and symbolised strength. The company's association with television advertising began in 1971 with the "Yorkshiremen love it" campaign. An early campaign used a series of parodies of Jona Lewie 's " Stop the Cavalry " generally extolling "yer mate called Smith." This was followed by

3871-508: The new style. The prosperity of the 1850s and 1860s, together with the arrival of the railways, realised greater opportunities for brewers, and John Smith employed eight men in his brewing and malting enterprise by 1861. The operations became sizeable during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Smith died in 1879, leaving an estate valued at under £45,000 (around £4.1 million in 2016 adjusted for inflation), and his assets were jointly inherited by his two brothers, William and Samuel Smith ,

3950-431: The operations were purchased by Heineken in 2008. John Smith's Extra Smooth and Original are produced at the Tadcaster brewery, as well as a range of Heineken products including Amstel and Kronenbourg 1664 . With a 38 million litre capacity, the brewery is one of the largest in the country. John Smith's became well known for a series of highly successful "No Nonsense"-themed television advertising campaigns, featuring

4029-402: The original brewhouse was converted into a brewery museum. In November 1985 a new £5 million brewhouse opened. Production of Foster's Lager began in 1987. By 1989 the brewery had a production capacity of 1.2 million barrels per annum. Scottish & Newcastle used the John Smith's Brewery to brew many of its ale brands. In 2004, a new £24 million bottling facility was opened in 2004, described as

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4108-508: The original market cross, stood on Westgate where the Tadcaster War Memorial now stands. The present-day market is held on Thursdays in the car park of Tadcaster Social Club on St Josephs Street. For local government purposes, the town is represented as one electoral division. However, until 2015, the River Wharfe divided the town into eastern and western electoral wards. The town was represented at Westminster as part of

4187-499: The other 4d. Today Tadcaster is renowned for its brewing industry and is known as The Burton of the North (after Burton-upon-Trent , an English brewing centre). Currently there are three breweries in the town: The Tower Brewery (Coors, formerly Bass ), John Smith's and Samuel Smith Old Brewery , which is the oldest brewery in Yorkshire and only remaining independent brewery in Tadcaster. A fourth brewery, (Braimes) stood by

4266-472: The overfall. A dry soak with CO 2 exhaustion during 4 hours follows. Several dry and wet soaking steps are to follow. The last step is the transfer to the saladin box . While in the traditional malt houses the product flow is horizontal, the flow in the Steep, Germinate and Kilning Vessel is vertical. Due to high capital costs this process is used only in industrial maltings for beer malt. Many villages had

4345-454: The phrase "Ave it!" into the public consciousness. Between 2002 and 2004 the Kay advertisements won over fifty advertising and marketing awards, making it the sixth most awarded advertising campaign in the world. Despite the success of the Kay campaign, the perceived " laddishness " of the advertisements were criticised by rival brewer Interbrew as hindering sales of beer among women. John Smith's

4424-760: The place where King Harald assembled his army and fleet before entering York and proceeding onwards to the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066. The place-name probably means 'Tata's fort' after an unknown Anglo-Saxon landowner. The town is mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book as "Tatecastre". The record reads: Two Manors. In Tatecastre, Dunstan and Turchil had eight carucates of land for geld, where four ploughs may be. Now, William de Parci has three ploughs and 19 villanes and 11 bordars having four ploughs, and two mills of ten shillings (annual value). Sixteen acres of meadow are there. The whole manors, five quaranteens in length, and five in breadth. In King Edward's time they were worth forty shillings; now one hundred shillings. In

4503-500: The river on the site of the present central car park. Despite these large commercial enterprises, Tadcaster exhibits many signs of urban decline, with a large number of empty and derelict properties in the town centre. In part this can be attributed to disputes between the owner of the Samuel Smith's brewery, Humphrey Smith, who is a major landowner in the town, and Selby District Council. There are no major tourist attractions in

4582-412: The shape of the former bailey. Before 1186, Matilda de Percy , the wife of William de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Warwick gave the hospital here to Sawley Abbey . The original river-crossing was probably a ford near the current bridge, followed by a wooden bridge. Around 1240, the first stone bridge was constructed, possibly from stone reclaimed from the castle. The current bridge was constructed on

4661-470: The shoots and stored for a few months to develop flavour. The Saladin system of mechanical and pneumatic malting was designed for a high performance process. The inventor Charles Saladin was a French engineer. The barley is soaked for an hour to remove swimming barley. This is followed by two hours of soaking to remove attached particles and dust. The next step is a prewashing by water circulation for 30 minutes followed by washing with fresh water and removing

4740-490: The size and extent of the current town with information for earlier periods. For example, the population in 1911 of the Tadcaster sub-district was 6,831 compared with that of the Tadcaster Registration District, 33,052. The motto of the old Tadcaster Rural District Council was "by service let us govern". Tadcaster also elects a mayor on an annual basis. Tadcaster has a long association with

4819-600: The southern end of the High Street. The tall stone chimney and ornate wrought-iron atrium are prominent features and are listed (protected) structures. Adjacent to these, across the narrow New Street, are the more modest Georgian headquarters of Samuel Smith's Brewery, with a handsome frontage on the High Street (formerly the Londesborough Arms and the Old Town Hall ), and the brewery tap , The Angel and White Horse . The oldest building in active use in

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4898-477: The total revenue was reported to be six million sterling a year. There were also numerous regulations in place regarding the malting process. The cistern and the couch-frame had to be constructed in a particular manner, to permit the excise officer to gauge the grain. The maltster had to give notice before wetting any grain; 24 hours in the city or market-town, 48 hours elsewhere. The grain had to be kept covered with water for 48 hours, excepting one hour for changing

4977-410: The town besides the parish church and Old Vicarage , is the half-timbered building on Kirkgate known as The Ark , built in the late 15th century, although it has been enlarged and altered many times since. Two carved heads on its front are thought to represent Noah and his wife, hence the name. The Ark has been a meeting place, a post office, an inn, a butcher's shop, a private house and a museum; it

5056-642: The town, which has one supermarket and no bank. The closure of the railway station (1964), the reduction of the market and the construction of the A64 Tadcaster bypass (1978), whilst substantially reducing traffic using the Tadcaster Bridge, have all contributed to the decline of footfall and therefore of retailing in the town. Local newspapers covering Tadcaster include The Press and the Wetherby News . The major regional newspaper in

5135-480: The town. Tadcaster pudding, a variety of rich fruit pudding first recorded in the 16th century, is traditional to the town. Tadcaster is twinned with the town of Saint-Chély-d'Apcher in the Lozère department of southern France. The colossal Tadcaster (John Smith's) Brewery (1883, with later additions), a notable example of Victorian industrial architecture, stands on the site of John Smith's earlier brewery at

5214-430: The water. Grain could only be put in the cistern between 8am and 2pm, and taken out between 7am and 4pm. It had to remain in the couch frame for at least 26 hours. Once thrown out of the cistern, it could not be sprinkled for 12 days. A survey book or ledger had to be kept to record the process and the gauging of the grain in the cistern, the couch, and on the floor. The volume of the grain was carefully measured, based upon

5293-765: The wines and spirits distributor, was acquired. The company began to bottle its own beer in Tadcaster from 1907. In 1912, the company owned over 250 horses, 41 of which saw service during the First World War. Artificially carbonated beer was first bottled in 1923. Paired horse drays were phased out by 1929. During and for some time after the World Wars, the Government raised the duty on beer, and forced brewers to lower their beer strength. During this period, substitutes for malted barley had to be used for brewing, including flaked barley , oats and rye . The last of

5372-458: The winter months. During the nineteenth century many small breweries disappeared. Improved techniques allowed larger breweries and specialist maltsters to build their own maltings and operate year-round. These were often housed in multi-storey buildings. It was also more efficient to transport malt than barley to the brewery, so many large breweries set up their own maltings near railways in the barley growing districts of eastern England. Towards

5451-635: Was an important staging post that grew at the crossing of the River Wharfe on the road to Eboracum ( York ). The suffix of the Anglo-Saxon name Tadcaster is derived from the borrowed Latin word castra meaning 'military camp' (the plural of castrum , fort), although the Angles and Saxons used the term for any walled Roman settlement. Tadcaster is first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , where it appears as Táda , referring to

5530-563: Was at the southernmost limit of glaciation, by the long, low embankment of debris known as the Escrick Moraine , which is composed of debris left behind by the Vale of York Glacier. The mere is a site of current palaeontological interest, as it is believed to be the site of the earliest discovery of the plesiosaur ; while unproven, the skeletal fragments found in Tadcaster match the age of those found elsewhere. Scientific analysis of

5609-567: Was available in 40,000 outlets across the United Kingdom. In 2007, Scottish & Newcastle moved production of John Smith's Cask from Tadcaster to Burtonwood near Warrington, and production of John Smith's Magnet to Camerons Brewery of Hartlepool . In 2008 three limited edition beers were released to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the brewery. In 2010 Heineken discontinued production of cask conditioned John Smith's Magnet, although it remains available in kegs. By 2011, production of John Smith's Cask had moved to Cameron's. As of 2012, John Smith's

5688-399: Was distributed in the South of England from 1979 onwards, accompanied by an extensive marketing budget. As research by Courage indicated that Southern drinkers considered Yorkshire bitter to be superior, the beer was sold there under the name John Smith's Yorkshire Bitter. Sales of the beer doubled in 1981 owing to the increase in free trade outlets in the South stocking the beer. By 1982 it was

5767-468: Was introduced in Britain in 1697, and was repealed in 1880. The rate for malted barley was 6d. per bushel in 1697 and had risen to 2s. 7d. in 1834. In 1789 the malt tax raised £ million, 11.5% of all taxes. In 1802 the malt duty rose from 1s. 4 1 ⁄ 4 d. a bushel to 2s. 5d., then to 4s. 5 3 ⁄ 4 d. in 1804, driven upwards by the need to finance the French Wars of 1793–1815. In 1865

5846-528: Was largely as the lowest road crossing-point on the River Wharfe until the construction of the A64 Tadcaster by-pass some 660 yards (600 m) to the south, in 1978. There are two rail crossings downstream of the town before the Wharfe joins the River Ouse near Cawood . Thanks to its position on the banks of the River Wharfe parts of the town adjacent to the bridge are prone to flooding. The town

5925-463: Was largely phased out during the twentieth century in favour of more mechanised production. Many malt houses have been converted to other uses, such as Snape Maltings , England, which is now a concert hall. The grain was first soaked in a steeping pit or cistern for a day or more. This was constructed of brick or stone, and was sometimes lined with lead. It was rectangular and no more than 40 inches (100 cm) deep. Soon after being covered with water,

6004-564: Was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974, but is now part of North Yorkshire . Tadcaster is twinned with Saint-Chély-d'Apcher in France. The Romans built a settlement and named it Calcaria from the Latin word for lime , reflecting the importance of the area's limestone geology as a natural resource for quarrying , an industry which continues and has contributed to many notable buildings including York Minster . Calcaria

6083-492: Was rebuilt between the 14th and 15th centuries. Due to repeated flooding, it was dismantled and reconstructed between 1875 and 1877 on foundations raised by 5 feet (1.5 m), though the tower was left untouched. £8,426 4s 6½d was raised by public subscription for this renovation. In 1897 a new north aisle was added. At the other end of the High Street, facing the Tadcaster Brewery (i.e. the John Smith's brewery)

6162-499: Was replaced in 1998 with a cardboard cut-out known as the "No Nonsense Man", from the GGT advertising agency. Despite appearing in over 20,000 pubs, clubs and shops, No Nonsense Man was found to have less of an impact than the Dee advertisements. Peter Kay represented the brand from 2002 to 2005 and again in 2010–11. The Kay campaign was described as an "advertising phenomenon", and introduced

6241-455: Was then spread out on the growing floor, the depth dictated by the temperature, but sufficiently deep to encourage vegetation. It was turned at intervals to achieve even growth and over the next fourteen days or so it is turned and moved towards the kiln . The temperature was also controlled by ventilation. A day or two after the grain was turned out on to the floor, an agreeable smell was given off, and roots soon began to appear. A day or so later

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