Barras Brewery

The Barras family were yeomen farmers who became wealthy in the eighteenth century from revenues from wayleaves. John Barras established a brewing company and by 1799 he was advertising for a new business partner. John Barras Jnr took over the business and in 1821 abandoned wine and spirit making to concentrate on beer brewing with John Russel as Barras & Co. John Barras Jnr lived at Farnacres Hall, a mansion house with pleasure grounds. In 1848, Charles Reed, who had married into the Barras family became involved in the brewery. He leased it from the Barras Trust from 1861. In 1882 the trust was wound up and the brewery site was sold to the North Eastern Railway Co. Charles Reed took over most of the associated public houses and moved into the vacant Tyne Brewery at Newcastle.