In 1928 the Wellington Brewery closed and brewing on a large scale in Wokingham came to an end. It had been started by Robert Dunning who built on land behind the Chair public house in Denmark Street which he owned at the time. The Chair was renamed the Duke of Wellington but was later demolished. In 1861 it was a small business employing only 4 people but then expanded taking advantage of the opening of the railway.
On Robert’s death in 1864, his son Thomas took over and by 1877 it was selling 2,500 barrels a year. In 1899 the brewery was sold to Frank Headington whose son, John ran the brewery. By 1920 the brewery supplied beer to 15 licensed premises that the Headingtons owned.
The brewery and pubs were sold to Ashbys of Staines in 1920, who had their own brewer, who then closed the Wellington Brewery.
The associated photograph was taken in the 1975 when the brewery building housed the Berkshire Craft Centre before being demolished.
Wokingham Town Museum Unique Identifier: WTH0439