THE CARLISLE STATE MANAGEMENT SCHEME

Mrs Ken and myself had a recent day trip to Carlisle. We parked up in a large car park located between the Castle and the West Coast Main Line. Glancing across to the line in the hope of spotting a train going passed, I noticed a long two story brick building with the words THE CARLISLE OLD BREWERY COMPANY LIMITED displayed on it. 

"Look at that " I exclaimed, "its the old Theakstons brewery". Blank look from Mrs Ken. " You know, the Carlisle State Management Scheme ?"   This time a look like I had grown a second head. 

Never mind,  it was time to refresh my memory as to when and how this scheme started and ended. So this is a brief history.

During the first World War there were large munitions factories in Gretna just over the Scottish border  As beer for Gretna was brewed in Carlisle, to discourage the workers there from drinking too much, in 1916 the UK Government took over the brewing, distribution and sale of all booze in the Carlisle area. Two other parts of the UK were affected, Enfield and Cromarty Firth. Carlisle was the largest and is the most well known.

Included in the scheme was restricted opening hours, the forbidding of buying a round of drinks and the refurbishment ( and sometimes demolition) of pubs in the area. There was even a style of pub designed which affected the design of pubs in UK.

In 1971 the then Government decided to privatise the scheme, with Theakstons buying the brewery. This lasted until 1987 when the it closed due to financial reasons, with production being transferred to Newcastle.

The Old Carlisle Brewery complex is now student accommodation.

Every pub still open in Carlisle that is over 30 years old was in the scheme. In fact the first I ever visited in the city, back in the 90's,  was a former state management pub, the Milbourne Arms.

A few years ago, on a pub crawl, we enjoyed the beer and the surroundings of  the Kings Head in the centre  and The Boardroom next to the cathedral.  

Now, a splendid initiative called THE STATE MANAGEMENT STORY has been launched , the link of which can be found here. http://thestatemanagementstory.org/ 

As well as a comprehensive history, there are details of  a pub trail, the impact the scheme had on the rest of the UK,  and other useful information. They are asking if anyone has more information to contact them via the website.