Alexander Berwick purchased the brewery in Gentle's Close, Holyrood, Edinburgh, Scotland , in 1822 . James Gentle , who had been an Edinburgh brewer since at least 1747 , purchased the property in 1753 . After his death in the 1780s it remained in his family and was probably rented out. Richard Younger operated it from 1783 until the 1790s . Alexander and John Berwick put the brewery up for sale in 1858 . It was rumoured at the time that they had lost GBP 15,000 since an uncle had left the company.
The brewery was purchased by William Younger & Co , brewers in Edinburgh, in 1858, who remodelled the property into Holyrood Brewery . The Berwicks constructed a new brewery on the site of their maltings in Reid's Close and operated it for several years. It was bought by Mr Moyes around 1870 and he ran it as the Reid's Close Brewery for a short time until he went bankrupt.
Sources: Richmond, Lesley and Turton, Alison (eds.) The brewing industry. A guide to historical records ( Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 1990 )
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From the guide to the Records of Alexander Berwick & Co, brewers, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1849-1852, (Glasgow University Archive Services)
