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Inside the £6 million London home with a link to Whitbread brewery
C hiswell Street in Islington sits between the cultural offerings of the Barbican and the tech hub around Old Street's Silicon Roundabout. Not long ago though, it was the centre of one of the largest breweries in the world. Samuel Whitbread produced more than 200,000 barrels of porter a year in the late 18th century, rising to 330,000 by the mid-19th century. The site was nicknamed 'Whitbread's Giant' and beer was brewed there for more than 200 years.
The house historian Melanie Backe-Hansen says: 'By 1796 Whitbread was the largest producer of beer in London. They continued to grow and by the 1890s they took over space in Garrett Street, constructing a purpose-built stables to house their working horses' which pulled the delivery wagons. 'White's Yard and Basket Alley had been connected to create Garrett Street, which was named after a member of the parish vestry works committee, in 1898.'
