More “Sunshine and Showers”, Please!
More “Sunshine and Showers”, Please!
The sun came out on March 18th and we have welcomed generous quantities of it ever since. It has drawn everyone out of their houses and, those that are inclined, have found their way back to the pub. And every week our malt sales have reflected this, confirming that the Great British Public have not lost sight of the Great British Pub. Hooray!
Some of this may have been helped by the popular press whose relentless campaigns over the winter have drawn people’s attention to the “headwinds” that publicans are currently having to confront. Let us hope this summer offers a little respite.
But when we face the other way and spare a thought for the barley crop, we need to pray for rain. April has been far from wet enough for our crops out in the fields, which means rain in May will be even more critical than it normally is.
It is easy to overlook that lack of rain poses a far greater threat to mankind than lack of sun. So, for the time being, we are praying for a bit more of that classic weather we dub as the forecaster’s cop out – sunshine and showers! It shouldn’t stop people from going to the pub, but it will definitely help this year’s barley crop to flourish.
Teas in the Garden
Looking forward to next month, we’ll hope for nothing but sunshine on Wednesday 17th June because it will be the first of our ‘Teas in the Garden’ this year.
As always, we will open the beautiful garden here at the Maltings between 2-4pm and offer a selection of cakes along with the requisite tea and scones at a cost of £9 per person.
For the previous 2 years, we have donated the money raised from these events to charity and we will do the same again this year.
Our chosen organisation for 2026 is WAG (Warminster Action Group).
WAG is a grassroots charity run solely by volunteers, who support the people of Warminster with practical help, connection and opportunities to belong and is hugely valuable to the people of Warminster.
These Old Floors are Worth a Visit…
We regularly welcome our customers, brewers and distillers alike, as well as other interested parties and we have a steady flow of visitors booked to visit us over the coming months. And still the enquiries keep coming!
That’s really a very good thing as there’s little we enjoy quite as much as showing off our Maltings!
If you would be interested in visiting us, pop us an email at info@warminster-malt.co.uk or call us on 01985 212014.
Visitors will receive a guided tour explaining how malt is made, why Warminster is the historical centre of the industry and now includes time to look around our museum.
We’re very proud of our collection. It’s a record of a formerly thriving industry, but one which still exists here in Warminster.
East Lambrook Manor, Somerset.
East Lambrook Manor, near Ilminster in Somerset is surrounded by a Grade 1 Listed garden which each year attracts up to 10,000 visitors from all over the world. Described as the most outstanding example of the English Cottage Garden style, most years there are over 2,000 cultivars which combine to produce a floral canopy all year round. In the middle of the garden is a substantial former Malthouse!
Andrew and Alison Johnson purchased the property just over a year ago, and ever since, have been challenged by their visitors “What is a Malthouse?” So, they drove across to Warminster to find out.
The East Lambrook Malthouse is estimated to be early 17th century, and it is thought the production of malt ceased at the end of the 19th century, or very early in the 20th. Unfortunately, the building was then gutted by fire in 1964 and any clues to its former life have been totally obscured.
Robin Appel gave Andrew and Alison an explanatory tour of our malthouses and process and, then presented them with a drawing of the likely infrastructure and process of their Malthouse, based on the “Newark” design (Newark as in Nottinghamshire). This drawing was kindly created for the Johnsons by our dear friend and supporter, Amber Patrick, Maltings Historian.
We will continue to keep in touch with Andrew and Alison at East Lambrook Manor, because as fellow custodians of old malthouses, we are preserving an important part of our history which has all but completely disappeared.
Robin Appel & Lisa Conduit
