In Pictures: Croydon Blesses Its Beer

Will Noble
By Will Noble Last edited 91 months ago

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In Pictures: Croydon Blesses Its Beer
Father Lee Taylor waves incense over beer barrels.

A Catholic tradition was revived in Croydon last night — one that involves blessing barrels of beer.

Father Lee Taylor led a mass at Croydon Minster, before leading the congregation of around 35 to the Dog & Bull pub on Surrey Street — on their way, singing a litany asking God to bless Croydon.

The congregation were welcomed by pub locals, before Father Lee blessed beer barrels in the cellar using holy water and incense.

He then did the same with the taps and pumps at the bar.

Said Father Lee: "It was great to see so many there. I spoke to many people over a pint or two afterwards. We had people from overseas visiting the area on holiday who heard about the event..."

"...Before I left the pub, one regular asked, 'Father, when are you going to do this again... perhaps we could bless the beer in all the Croydon pubs... make it a pub crawl.'"

Last Updated 05 August 2016