Place Name
Previously Castle Street. In 1729, Ralph Thrale (1698 – 1758), manager of the Anchor Brewery in Park Street purchased the business from his uncle Edmund Halsey, for £30,000 to be paid in instalments over 11 years. The thriving business was passed down to his son, Henry Thrale, who was quite literally brought into the brewing industry from birth, being born at the Alehouse in Harrow Corner, Southwark. Under his stewardship the brewery continued to grow, and he became MP for Southwark. He was also a very close friend of Samuel Johnson. Despite he and his wife Hester having 12 children, only four daughters survived to adulthood which may explain why following Henry’s death, she sold the brewery to Barclay Perkins & Co for £135,000, to be paid over four years. The Anchor Brewery covered an area as far as Park Street.
