Ale to the Queen! Her Majesty leaves St Bride’s with blessed brew

One of the many miracles attributed to the sixth-century Celtic saint Brigid of Kildare, to whom our Church of St Bride is dedicated, was the ability to turn bathwater into beer.

So it was with particular pleasure that the Rector, Alison Joyce, gave Queen Camilla a bottle of St Bride’s Ale as a parting gift when she visited St Bride’s in February 2026 to attend a service to celebrate the 650th anniversary of the Guild of St Bride and to visit the church Crypt.

The beer was brewed by Harvey’s Brewery, the Sussex brewers based in Lewes which has a long tradition of marking the start of production of its annual Christmas Ale by having it blessed.

The Rector and the church’s head of finance, James Irving, visited the brewery in 2024, and Alison blessed that year’s brew.

Harvey’s generously re‑branded 100 bottles as St Bride’s Ale to commemorate the 1,500th anniversary of the death of St Brigid.

It is a robust, dark barley wine at 7.5% ABV which should be approached with due respect! We hope their majesties enjoy it.

After the commemorative service the Queen visited the crypts. These were extensively excavated after the wartime bombing of the church, which revealed many unexpected discoveries including a Roman mosaic pavement, further evidence of the seven previous churches on the site and thousands of human remains.

The crypts now house two chapels and a free museum which has a remarkable newly updated centrepiece exhibit – a 40 foot timeline which guides visitors seamlessly through St Bride’s long and rich history.

The Queen, who was introduced to the timeline designers, officially opened the exhibit which has proved hugely popular.

The church and crypt museum are free to visit and open most days.

Written by Neil Bellingham, Digital Communications, St Bride’s Church