Beer Zoning again

Some more details on beer zoning - the limiting of breweries to delivering to pubs in their own immediate area.

First something about the zones in Yorkshire.

"Beer Supplies to be Zoned
Beer zoning is the latest move the Ministry of Food's campaign to cut wastage in transport and ensure fair distribution. The country is being split into zones, and public houses will sell only locally brewed beer. Breweries which send beer to all parts the country will the main firms affected.

Yorkshire will have six subdivisions. the principal ones being Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, York and the East Riding. The Leeds area includes, Castleford, Featherstone, Garforth, Harrogate, Horbury, Knaresborough, Nidderdale, Knottlngley, Morley, Normanton, Ossett, Pontefract, Osgoldcross, Ripon, Pateley Bridge, Rothwell, Stanley, Tadcaster, Wakefield and Wetherby.

Bradford takes in Aireborough, Balldon, Batley, Brighouse, Colne Valley, Denby Dale, Dewsbury, Elland, Halifax, Hebden Royd, Hepton, Heckmondwlke, Holmfirth, Horsforth, Huddersfleld, Kirkburton, Meltham, Mirfield, Pudsey, Queensbury, Shelf, Ripponden, Saddleworth, Shipley, Sowerby Bridge, Spenborough and Todmorden.

Brewers in Yorkshire have already economised in transport, but further cuts are necessary. Previously, beer had come into the county from Scotland, Lancashire, and elsewhere."
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer - Wednesday 03 February 1943, page 5.

If you know something of the geography of Yorkshire, you'll realise that the bordrs of the zones are pretty arbitrary. Tadcaster, for example, is closer to York than to Leeds. And, of course, Leeds and Bradford are so close to each other that their outer suburbs meet.

It seems that zoning didn't have an impact everywhere:

"Beer Zoning Surprise
The fact that beer zoning ends on March 2 did not cause even the tremour an eye-lid at Bath, because the city has experienced none. All the brewery firms supplying the city are within the 20 miles radius Georges, Ushers, Fussells, the Lamb, Bristol United, and all these have been supplying their own houses as usual during the whole of the war. Burton-on-Trent beers, and of course Guinness were excluded from the zonal qualification."
Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette - Saturday 09 February 1946, page 3.

I'm sure Bath wasan't the only town where all the beer was already supplied by nearby breweries.

There's also confirmation that the big Burton brewers and Guinness were exempt from zoning.I'd a ssumed that was the case, but it's good to have it confirmed.