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Brewery's shire horses deliveries at an end

Sophie Parker
BBC News, Wiltshire
Leo Collier-Bett Two shire horses in full harness - view face-on. The horses are black with large white blazes down their faces.Leo Collier-Bett
Leo Collier-Bett Two harnessed black shire horses in front of large Wadworth-branded cart. They are in an outdoor area on a sunny day, beer barrels and outbuildings are in the background.Leo Collier-Bett
The shire horses are a well-known sight around Devizes.
Sam and George have been the horses used over the past few years - they had their own team to take care of them.

A brewery that has used shire horses to deliver to pubs since the 1800s has decided to stop the service, with the horses - Sam and George - going to a new home in Wales.

Wadworth, in Devizes, Wiltshire, was originally planning new stables, but has said this was "no longer viable due to the escalation in build costs and complexities of the site".

The company has recently moved production away from their heritage site in the centre of the town which has made local deliveries more difficult.

It has been decision Wadworth described as a "great sadness".

Scott Barker Front-on view of a black shire horse with it's tongue out, tasting from a pint of beer. His handler holds him by a lead rope and holds the glass. He is wearing a blue jacket and flat cap.Scott Barker
It was a tradition for the horses to have a pint at the start of their summer holiday.

The old site on Northgate Street in the town has the original stables nearby, where the horses have traditionally worked from. The site has a visitor centre to explain its heritage.

The company had just introduced a new horse - Walter - in the first half of 2024.

Shire horses started working from the site in 1885, with more than 40 at one point. Most had to be sold during World War Two, but four were brought back in 1974.

Scott Barker Side-view of Wadworth Cart & shire horse with barrels on the back, walking towards a large, Victorian red-brick building with Wadworth Brewery on the side.Scott Barker
The Northgate Street site (seen here) is no longer brewing - it has moved to Folly Road.

With production now coming from a new build on Folly Road, it is harder to do the horse-drawn deliveries, but a planning application for new stables near the town was approved recently.

However, Wadworth has said that with costs increasing for the build and more financial pressure from the government budget, the company made the decision to retire the horses.

The horses now have a new home at Gentle Giants in Wales, where they have been showing off ploughing and often meet the public.

Wadworth have thanked the team which looked after the horses and people in Devizes who have supported them.

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