Brewing in Stow dates back to medieval times when the markets in Stow Square were thriving. Pretty much every shop in Stow would brew its own ale for sale at the market. This trade was completely unregulated, and the quality of the product left a lot to be desired.  In the 1300s brewing was largest trade in Stow and by 1635, 15 ale houses were officially registered. In 1755 this had risen to 29 ale houses. As Stow wasn’t connected to mains water until 1937 there were regular occurrences of polluted water in the town so this no doubt helped the sale of beer. Beer was seen as being safer to drink than water as the combination of boiling the water during the brewing process and the alcohol content in the beer killed most bacteria.

The Victoria Brewery was founded in what is now known as Brewery Yard in Sheep Street at the time of Queen Victoria’s coronation in 1837. It was founded by 3 local men, 2 church wardens and a librarian, so what they knew about brewing was unclear! 

In the 1860’s it was taken over by two brothers, Richard and William Gillet who built Victoria House opposite as their home. In 1864 they extended the cellar and built an engine room and offices at No 4 Brewery Yard. In 1869 the main brewery office was built at the entrance to the brewery with a rather unique design faced with flint. One of the owners was a Mason and so the upper floor of the building was designed as a Lodge meeting place.

In 1896, it was known as Green’s brewery, after one of the owners. A private well on the premises was used for brewing and the selling of spring water. 

Opposite Brewery Yard, on the other side of the road, is a driveway to the brewery’s Malt House. This took place on the upper floor in the loft of the building and you can still see the small windows on the first floor. Malting is the process where barley is soaked in water to germinate and then quickly dried with hot air to stop the process. Metal railway tracks led across the road to transfer the malted barley in handcarts. 

Rising costs and competition from larger breweries caused the brewery to close in December 1913 and it was sold to the Original Brewing Co. in Cheltenham. They sold off some of their assets including 3 pubs to the Donnington Brewery.