How to find it
The information board about Simonds Brewery is in the Oracle Shopping Centre, south side of the Kennet and Avon Canal near Bridge Street in front of Wagamama restaurant. It faces what was the site of the Simonds Brewery.
The Unveiling
The information board was unveiled 26 February 2009 by the then Mayor of Reading Cllr Peter Beard. The board is sited on the south side of the Kennet, facing what was the site of the brewery. It was funded by the Simonds family and members of Reading Civic Society.
To mark the event a special brew of H & G Simonds Ltd Old Berkshire Strong Ale was produced by the Chiltern Brewery. An updated history of the brewery was published. The then Lord Lieutenant of the Royal County of Berkshire, the late Mrs Mary Bayliss JP was among the 80 guests who attended.
A bit of background
William Simonds started a small brewery in 1774 with two pubs in Reading and two elsewhere. 1785 William Blackall Simonds opened a brewery at 85 Broad Street. In 1789 he bought a large site by the Kennet and asked John Soane to design a new brewery and a private residence on Bridge Street. Simonds Brewery went from strength to strength, including trading internationally.
In 1960 H & G Simonds Ltd merged with Courage Barclay Ltd to become Courage Barclay & Simonds & Co Ltd, until simplified to Courage Ltd in 1970. As Scottish Courage, they operated from the Berkshire Brewery, at Worton Grange, on the borders of Reading and Shinfield, until it closed in March 2010, its 30 year life comparing somewhat unfavourably to the 190 year life of the Bridge St Brewery.
The last brew at the old Seven Bridges Brewery buildings on Bridge Street was on 25 June 1980. The Bridge Street Brewery was demolished in 1983 and replaced by the Oracle Shopping Centre in 1999. Once this was complete Duncan Simonds, then President of Reading Civic Society, worked to have an information board erected to ensure the history of H & G Simonds brewery was readily accessible to both visitors and residents of Reading as they walked through the Oracle Shopping Centre. This was achieved in 2009 by the erection of the Information Board, though sadly this was after Duncan’s death in 2002.
The board paints a picture of what was there before the Oracle Shopping centre, the brewery’s history and its role as a major employer and the home of H & G Simonds brewery.
Other information
The information board measures 1500mm by 500mm, is in vitrified enamel made by A. J. Wells & Sons Ltd of Newport Isle of Wight. For more information about Simonds Brewery You can read a booklet entitled ‘The Story of the Bridge Street Brewery Reading (1785 – 1980)‘ or go to Home – Simonds Family Website
