Brewing commenced in the grounds of Beevor Hall, the home of the Senior family, in around 1858. They traded under Paul and Guy Senior until the formation of the Barnsley Brewing Company in 1888 (Anon 1999 [accessed 16/1/08]). The brewery was taken over by John Smiths Tadcaster Brewery in 1961 (Bayliss 1995, 7) and ceased to produce beer in 1976 but remained as a distribution centre until 1992. The site was bought by RBNB in 1994 and production resumed in 1997. (Anon 1999 [accessed 16/1/08]). Several of the early buildings survive within the modern complex. Prior to the brewery this was the site of the Beevor Bleachworks. Linen bleaching was being carried out by John Lupton at a small scale in the area in the 18th century. William Jackson and James Lister, and later Williams son, continued bleaching linen and cotton and by the early 19th century production was working on a larger scale. This is in part probably due to the improved transport system after the completion of the Dearne and Dove Canal in 1804. (Taylor 1993, 40). This land was enclosed prior to the drawing up of the 1777 parliamentary award map. It is located on the edge of land known as Swinhill which was a medieval open field (Elliot 2002, 37). This land was probably part of the open field system. Part of this land was part of the grounds of Beevor Hall. Within this area there was a water powered corn mill in the 17th century. In the late 18th century this was utilised as a blacking mill producing coal powder to coat the insides of moulds in a iron foundry at Hunslet. William Jackson bought the estate in 1813, after which the mill is believed to have been used for linen manufacturing. The Reservoir within the gardens of Beevor Hall may have been the mill pond for this mill. (Umpleby 2000, 139-40). There is no legibility of the former uses of this site.