The Society urges the owners to come forward with a development scheme before this important building is lost.
Grade II-listed, 1896, William Bradford
This large, redbrick tower brewery was designed by the prolific architect, William Bradford, who designed and altered more than seventy breweries, maltings, and ancillary buildings in the course of his lifetime. It makes for one of his most eclectic works, from the second half of his career, with the hipped slate roofs with crested ridge tiles and moulded brick eaves brackets taking references from the local Suffolk vernacular.The building’s fortunes changed following the merger of Tolly Cobbold and Ridley’s Brewery in 2002, when, in an attempt to maximise cost synergies, the board of the combined company voted to close the brewery. It has been derelict ever since, suffering from frequent lead and copper thefts, and the ingress of water through the roof has had devastating impacts inside and out, with much of the exterior covered in green algae. In 2013, the current owner was granted outline planning permission to redevelop the former Tolly Cobbold site, for a combination of residential and commercial uses, but as yet no work has started and the building continues to deteriorate.
Director of the The Victorian Society, Christopher Costelloe, said: ‘We’re grateful to everyone who nominated the former Tolly Cobbold Brewery. Like all the buildings included in this year’s Top Ten, it is a listed building meaning that the Government has recognised its national importance. It deserves better than being closed and lying empty indefinitely. I urge the public to share the Top Ten list, and Griff’s message, to help raise awareness of these buildings and help them to find the investment they desperately need.’
Status Update / March 2026
Following an arson attack in 2020, CAMRA suggested that the building was damaged beyond repair and that it was ‘highly unlikely’ it would ever reopen. In 2021, however, the building was purchased by a private developer who committed to restoring and redeveloping the brewery for residential use. The proposals submitted for planning, which included an eight-storey enabling development to the south of the listed building, were opposed by Associated British Ports in 2025, and are currently under revision.