Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in Staffordshire, England. Burton is close to the southern entrance to the Peak District National Park.

Burton is known for its brewing. The town grew up around Burton Abbey. Burton Bridge was also the site of two battles, in 1322, when Edward II defeated the rebel Earl of Lancaster and in 1643 when royalists captured the town during the First English Civil War. William Lord Paget and his descendants were responsible for extending the manor house within the abbey grounds and facilitating the extension of the River Trent Navigation to Burton. Burton grew into a busy market town by the early modern period.

The town is served by Burton-on-Trent railway station. The town was also the start and terminus of the now defunct South Staffordshire Line which linked it to Lichfield, Walsall, Dudley and Stourbridge.

Brewing For centuries brewing was Burton's major trade, and it is still an important part of its economy.

The town is currently home to eight breweries; Coors Brewers Ltd: formerly Bass Brewers Ltd, and now the UK arm of Molson Coors Brewing Company – which produces Carling and Worthington Bitter; Marston's, Thompson and Evershed plc, bought by Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries now renamed Marstons plc. The Marston's Brewery produces its own brands, draught Marston's Pedigree, draught Hobgoblin and also draught Bass under licence from InBev.

Burton Bridge Brewery is based in Bridge Street, with six pubs in and around Burton. It produces a number of traditional beers including Bridge Bitter, Stairway to Heaven, Damson Porter and Golden Delicious. Tower Brewery is a microbrewery off Wharf Road. Old Cottage Brewery is based in Hawkins Lane. Its beers include Oak Ale and Halcyon Daze. Black Hole Brewery is based at the Imex Centre. Gates Brewery microbrewery is in Reservoir Road.

Burton is also the corporate headquarters of the pub operators Punch Taverns plc and Spirit Pub Company, which were spun out of Bass in 1997. In addition, the White Shield microbrewery remains open alongside the National Brewery Centre (formerly the Bass Museum of Brewing).

A by-product of the brewing industry is the Marmite factory in the town. The original Marmite factory (now demolished) was at the corner of Cross Street and Duke Street before they moved to the current factory on Wellington Road in the 1960s. The production of Marmite has in turn generated the production of Bovril. Both are owned by multinational company Unilever.

Burton is also home to CAMRA's National Breweriana Auction that takes place each October in the Town Hall.

Manufacturing Eatough's (sometimes Etough's) was a shoemaking firm from Leicestershire that opened a factory in Burton Road, Branston in 1920. It was the first British shoe factory to introduce music in the workplace (1936), and washable children's sandals ('Plastisha' 1957), but it closed in 1989 as a result of competition from cheap imports.

Briggs of Burton (formerly S. Briggs & Co.) is a Burton-based brewery and process engineering company established in 1732 by Samuel Briggs. Famous for its manufacturing innovation and craftsmanship across the world, Briggs moved from its works in New Street to Derby Street having taken over its rival Robert Morton DG in 1988. The former site is now occupied by the Octagon Shopping Centre.

Established in 1740, Thornewill and Warham was a metal hardware and industrial metalwork manufacturer, later an engineering company that became a notable producer of steam engines and railway locomotives. It also constructed two footbridges across the River Trent in Burton. It too was acquired by S. Briggs & Co, in 1929.

Retail A market has been held on Thursdays in Burton since a charter was granted to the abbot by King John on 12 April 1200. Burton today has an indoor and an outdoor market, which are owned by East Staffordshire Borough Council. In 2011 the council contracted out responsibility for market stall rentals to private letting agency Quarterbridge. The Market Hall was built in 1883 from designs by Dixon & Moxon of Barnsley and opens from Tuesday to Saturday. A fish market was added to the hall in 1925. The outdoor market is held every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 8.30am until 4pm. A farmer's market is held in the market square on the last Friday of every month.

The Coopers Square shopping centre is the principal shopping area, opened in 1970 by the Princess Alexandra but since considerably upgraded with a roof being added in the mid-1990s. The older Riverside Shopping Centre (known as Bargates) is now demolished.

An additional shopping centre is the Octagon Centre on New Street, constructed in the mid-1980s. There is another, much smaller shopping centre, Burton Place Shopping Centre, which was built in 1986 and originally known as Worthington Walk. Also located in the town centre is Middleway Retail Park, which includes a Cineworld multiplex cinema, Mecca Bingo, Matalan and restaurants, including Bella Italia and Nando's.

In 2005 a report by the New Economics Foundation rated Burton at 13.3 out of 60 for "individuality", putting it in the top ten clone towns in England, because of the large number of chain stores in the town centre. Since then events such as a French market have been organised to bring more footfall into the town centre.

Services At one time Nord Anglia Education had its office at Nord House in Burton-upon-Trent. Media services include Burton Mail and Capital Mid-Counties broadcasting on 102.4 FM from Winshill Water Tower.

Burton upon Trent power station in Wetmore Road generated electricity for the town, including the tram system, until it closed in 1976.

Distribution and warehousing Due to Burton's relative location in the centre of England and its transport links which allow easy access to Birmingham (the second largest UK city), Derby, Nottingham, Leicester and other locations, there are a significant number of warehouses based in Burton (and nearby Fradley Park).

Notable businesses with distribution centres and warehouses include B&Q, Boots, Hobbycraft, Holland & Barrett, DHL, Waterstones, Clipper and Amazon.