Greene King has sold the Old Speckled Hen brand to Damm UK, the British arm of Spanish brewer Estrella Damm. Brewing is expected to eventually move from Bury St Edmunds to Bedford as a result. It will also mean a change to the Greene King distribution centre in Abingdon where the lorries currently wear the Old Speckled Hen livery.

For the national press, this is a business story. For Abingdon, it is part of the afterlife of two of the town’s best-known names: Morland and MG.

Old Speckled Hen was first brewed in Abingdon in 1979 by Morland Brewery to celebrate 50 years of the MG factory being based in the town. The original logo had a chain connecting MG with the town crest. The Old Speckled Hen was not a bird but an “MG Featherlight Saloon” with cellulosed fabric stretched over a wooden frame, which became an MG factory runaround. Identified by its mottled appearance, it was pointed out in the Abingdon accent by the phrase, “There gus the owd speckl’d un”.

The beer created to commemorate MG’s presence in Abingdon became a multi-national success after the factory closed.

This timeline tells the story:

1979 — Old Speckled Hen first brewed in Abingdon by Morland
1980 — MG factory closes
1999/2000 — Greene King acquires Morland (their interest in Morland was driven in part by the success of Old Speckled Hen beer). Brewing leaves Abingdon for Bury St Edmunds
2026 — Greene King sells the brand to Damm, with brewing expected to move to Bedford

Greene King kept the MG hexagon and Morland name on the beer.  Damm appears keen to market Old Speckled Hen as an “iconic British ale brand with a rich heritage”. The acquisition appears to cover the Old Speckled Hen family of beers and not the Morland brand, so I don’t know whether the Morland branding will continue on the beer.