A Family History

1824 – 1887 John Harris, originally a farmer, moved to Hook Norton in 1849, purchasing a farm of 52 acres in part of the village known as Scotland End. Included in the sale of the…

1861 – 1934 In his will, John Harris set up a trust to run the business, rather than leaving it outright to his son John Henry, although his reasons for this are not clear. John…

1858 – 1917 Alban Clarke was John Harris’ nephew and, in later years, married John’s eldest daughter. He had been a Manager at the brewery since the 1860s and it was he who was to…

1904 – 1982 As Bill Clarke was only 13 at the time of his father’s death, it would be some years before he could take his place in the family firm. In 1928 however, he…

1941 – 2004 As a young boy, David grew up in and around Hook Norton but like others, before him, he went to another brewery (in this case, the Gilchrist’s Burtonwood brewery) to learn his…

1971 – James Clarke joined the family business in 1991 and became Head Brewer in 1998. Upon the death of his father in 2004, James followed in his family’s tradition and became Managing Director, a…