Messrs. Truman, Hanbury, Buxton & Co's. Brewery

Messrs Truman, Hanbury, Buxton & Co. brewery, 1842. London's breweries were some of the largest in the world. By the 1840s, breweries such as the Black Eagle of Truman, Hanbury, Buxton & Co. in Brick Lane had become tourist attractions in their own right. It was described as having 'more the appearance of a town itself than of a private manufacturing establishment.' The print shows how Truman's premises dominated this section of Brick Lane. Even the Eastern Counties Railway line in the distance seems small in comparison. Large drays (low carts) emerged from the brewery laden with beer barrels. The brick buildings on either side contained enormous vats, large copper vessels, mashing machines, pipes and pumps, with malt and hops stored in adjoining warehouses. At the centre of the plant lay an enormous steam engine. It was noted that 'steam in fact does everything. Waste steam from the engine even operates the automatic cask-cleaning machinery.'