The Brewery History Society has marked its 40th anniversary by awarding honorary life membership to professor Peter Mathias. The professor is the author of “The Brewing Industry in England 1700-1830”, a groundbreaking volume published in 1959 which opened up brewing history to serious academic study. Mathias wrote the book whilst still in his twenties and an assistant lecturer in history in the University of Cambridge. In a distinguished career he was to go on to become professor of Economic History in the University of Oxford and a fellow of All Souls at the young age of 41, before returning to Cambridge as Master of Downing College in 1987. The professor and his wife Ann were the guests of the BHS at the Society’s AGM held in Fuller’s Hock Cellar at the Chiswick brewery on 20th April, when he received his award and gave a splendid talk explaining why and how he began his career by researching the history of the brewing industry.
Photograph caption: Peter Mathias receiving his certificate of honorary life membership of the Brewery History Society from the president, Ray Anderson, with the chairman, Jeff Sechiari, looking on.