Sadness as Burton's brewery museum set to close

The National Brewery Centre will become a new headquarters for its owner, Molson Coors

A museum which celebrated the brewing history of Burton-upon-Trent is to close on Sunday.

Drinks company Molson Coors, plans to use The National Brewery Centre for its new headquarters, despite opposition.

Many supporters of the museum, which opened in 2010, had worked in the industry and said they would gather to share their memories on its final day.

Molson Coors said a new museum would be set up in the town centre.

It is moving because East Staffordshire Borough Council bought the company's current headquarters for £5.2m as part of a town centre regeneration plan.

Molson Coors said it decided to move all its staff to the National Brewery Centre site instead, but would preserve the historic buildings.

It also said it would keep all the artefacts and transfer them to the new museum when it opens.

That new museum is due to be operated by the local authority.

Volunteer Steven Blakemore helped maintain the Robey engine - one of the artefacts due to move

Museum volunteer Steven Blakemore said both of his grandfathers worked in the local brewing industry and felt the museum is part of his identity.

He said he was "deeply upset" over the museum closure and added: "I strongly feel a condensed museum with its rich collection of artefacts is an insult to our history, town and brewing forefathers."

Another volunteer, Terry Elks, spent most of his working life in the local breweries and said: "It is all that is left of our brewery heritage and things will never be the same again."

He added: "I can walk round the museum now and see equipment I helped fabricate and my dad actually worked on. All this is liable to disappear."

Campaigners walked along the High Street and then on to the National Brewery Centre on Sunday

Earlier in the month, campaigners marched through the town in protest against the closure of the museum.

The Campaign for Real Ale also opposed the closure and said the closure would be a "devastating loss".

East Staffordshire Borough Council previously said it would seek to "explore opportunities for expanding the proposed new Burton Heritage Centre in a way that can best incorporate the items from the NBC".

That could mean the museum being moved to the Bass House building on the High Street, it said.

Until that happens, Molson Coors said it would store the museum artefacts in part of the museum site which it does not immediately need.

It said groups who have volunteered at the National Brewery Centre can continue to access the collection while that process is ongoing.