James Woodforde as brewer
A skilled home-brewer
Whole hops as used by James Woodforde [photo Margaret Bird 2012]The diarist was a highly competent home-brewer from his early twenties and perhaps earlier, probably having been trained by his father at Ansford Parsonage.
As a tribute to the parson's skill two enthusiastic home-brewers decided in 1981 to name their new commercial venture after him, as described later on this page. Woodforde's Brewery, the largest brewery in Norfolk and named in his honour, was chosen as the venue for a 250th-anniversary celebration by the Parson Woodforde Society in April 2025. The diarist, a West Countryman, had first come to Norfolk in April 1775.
Woodforde was already brewing beer while serving as a young curate at Babcary in Somerset. He did not however consider himself skilled enough to brew cider, and turned to a local farmer to make use of the parsonage apples at Babcary.
Cynthia Brown analyses the diarist's brewing technique in her detailed article in the Parson Woodforde Society Journal for Summer 2000: vol. 33 no. 2, pages 4–11.
The photographs of the hops and yeast head on one of the real ales at Woodforde's Brewery were taken on 5 July 2012 during a tour by the Brewery History Society. Neil Bain was then head brewer at Woodforde's. Unlike bottom-fermented lagers, real ales are top-fermented – as in James Woodforde's time. The cream-coloured yeast forms a crusty, constantly moving head in the working tun, also known as a fermenting vessel. As the micro-organism converts the sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide the yeast changes colour to yellowy-brown.
'I never saw pigs so drunk in my life'
One of the most quoted passages from Woodforde's 43-year-long daily diary relates to the parsonage pigs who got drunk devouring the 'grounds' (the brewer's grains taken from fermented beer). The incident happened less than two years after he had settled in Norfolk:
A brew of Woodforde's Once Bittern in the making [photo Margaret Bird 2012]
15 April 1778 . . . Brewed a vessel of strong beer today. My two large pigs, by drinking some beer grounds taking [taken] out of three barrels today, got so amazingly drunk by it that they were not able to stand and appeared like dead things almost. I never saw pigs so drunk in my life . . .
16 April 1778 . . . My two pigs are still unable to walk yet, but they are better than they were yesterday. They tumble about the yard and can by no means stand at all steady yet. In the afternoon my two pigs were tolerably sober . . .
Ray Ashworth, the co-founder of the brewery, recalled in 1990 that it was this extract which gave him the idea of naming his new venture after the Rector of Weston Longville.
A brewer who took a pride in his craft
Parsonage-brewing was a demanding occupation, and one which James Woodforde took extremely seriously. Relying on his small copper at Weston with its capacity of probably not more than 30 or 40 gallons he managed to brew on forty occasions during his first year of brewing in Norfolk. As was common, he each time brewed strong beer or table beer (of intermediate strength) followed by the weaker small beer.
The process involved a good deal of heavy labour and staying up through the night, as in these extracts when he was aged 26 and living at the Lower House at Ansford in Somerset:
9 February 1767 . . . I got up at 3 o'clock this morning to brew a hogshead [54 gallons, or 432 pints] of strong beer of Mr Caleb Penny's malt and hops, both very good to me. I was busy all day at the Lower House, and therefore stayed there the whole day and did not go to bed this night as we could not tun our liquor till near two in the morning . . .
12 February 1767 . . . I got up before one this morning and brewed a three-quarter barrel [27 gallons, or 216 pints] of strong beer and some small beer and had it all cool and tunned by four o'clock in the afternoon . . .
It is no wonder that time and again Woodforde's tithe-payers in Norfolk complimented him on the strong beer he supplied at his annual tithe frolics. The rector was a craftsman, and 250 years after his arrival in his adopted county in April 1775 it was resolved that his portrait should hang at the brewery named in his honour.
A 250th-anniversary celebration
The Parson Woodforde Society presented a large framed photograph of the diarist's portrait to Woodforde's Brewery at Woodbastwick, near Norwich, on Tuesday afternoon 22 April 2025. The event took place in the restaurant of the brewery tap, the Fur and Feather. It stands on the Norfolk Broads, not far from the River Bure between Salhouse and Ranworth Broads.
Margaret Bird, Chairman of the society, presents a copy of the portrait of James Woodforde to James Ramm, the brewery's Head of Sales [photo Parson Woodforde Society 2025]
The portrait of Woodforde in clerical dress was painted posthumously by his nephew Samuel Woodforde RA, but it was based on a sketch made by Sam in 1785 when his uncle was aged 45.
On 15 April 1775, after a long journey from Oxford, James Woodforde made his first visit to Weston Longville to view his new parish ten miles north-west of Norwich. This was just over a year before he came to reside at the parsonage which became his home for the rest of his life.
A festive gathering
Dr David Crease, co-founder of Woodforde's Brewery, reflects on the choice of name and on its development over the years [photo Parson Woodforde Society 2025]In addition to Norfolk-based members of the Parson Woodforde Society representatives from a number of other organisations joined us for the presentation on a warm, sunny day. James Ramm (Head of Sales) and Chris Fuller (Marketing Manager) represented the brewery; the CEO Joe Parks was unable to be present.
Also present was John Hurst, on behalf of the Parochial Church Council of All Saints' Weston Longville, Parson Woodforde's church. After Margaret Bird's opening welcome as the society's chairman John read out extracts from Woodforde's diary from April 1775 describing the new rector's journey and his delighted reactions to Weston and its parsonage.
Following James Ramm's speech welcoming this new connection with the Parson Woodforde Society we heard from Dr David Crease, who with Ray Ashworth had founded the brewery 44 years earlier; David also went on to serve as head brewer. He emphasised the traditional methods pursued by the brewery, and the vital importance of a good source of brewing water, known as 'liquor'.
Mike Sparkes, a long-serving skipper of the Norfolk wherry Albion, was with us to honour the brewery's flagship amber ale named Wherry – in constant production throughout the brewery's history.
Richard Bond, a former business editor of the regional newspaper the Eastern Daily Press, was present together with members of the Norfolk Industrial Archaeology Society, which for more than fifty years has researched historic malting and brewing and its buildings in the county.
As the presentation did not take place at a weekend there was no opportunity to join a brewery tour. The well-stocked brewery shop was open from midday to 5 pm: see the brewery's website.
The venue at Woodbastwick: the Fur and Feather (NR13 6SW), with the brewery beyond. Woodforde's Brewery was named after the Norfolk diarist at its foundation in 1981, in recognition of his brewing expertise [photo Margaret Bird 2012]