THE old Home Ales brewery site in Daybrook is one of the best-loved buildings to the north of Nottingham.

Built in the 1930s by Hucknall-born architect Thomas Cecil Howitt, the building is justifiably Grade-II listed.

Although brewing ceased at the site in 1996, its landmark neon sign, saying "Home of the Best" and wrought-iron brewery gates have been preserved by current owners Notts County Council.

Now the council says it is to leave the building after 13 years and sell it on the open market.

The authority announced it was looking to offload the building in December 2010 as part of a drive to save money.

It was costing the county around £400,000 a year to run.

It has been used as the base for a number of departments, including culture and adult social care, which will now be moved into other buildings once a buyer is found.

Councillor Reg Adair, the county council's cabinet member for finance and property, said: "We want to get the very best price for this building to safeguard council taxpayers' money to reinvest in services.

"The building is in an attractive location as it lies just outside the proposed workplace levy zone, so we are looking forward to receiving competitive offers.

"The building is listed to preserve its interior and exterior features, so any future changes will need to gain planning consent."

Home Ales had a long history the county and were seen as one of the top breweries along with Hardy and Hansons in Kimberley, Shipstones in Old Basford and the old Mansfield Brewery.

Home Ales was founded in 1875 by John Robinson, who began malting and brewing in the area after running a small business in nearby Cross Street, in Arnold.

The company then moved to its current site, which came to be known as Home Breweries after the farm which the family owned Home Farm in Oxclose Lane. The beers were distributed throughout pubs in Arnold in 1889 and included Family Pale, Dinner Ale and Prime Invalid Stout.

A year later, the company was listed and extended its premises by 10,000 square yards as well as its market, with many more Home Ales pub opening across the region.

Over the following decades, Home Breweries entered the soft drinks market and by 1930, it was producing 600,000 bottles a week and brewing 2,500 barrels of beer.

During the 1980s and early 1990s it sponsored Notts County and, for one season in 1986-7, appeared on the shirts of Nottingham Forest.

The brewery office building and water tower were given greater protection after the building was listed in 1993, however the building was without its iconic clock face for more than 50 years – after it was left in the basement during construction.

The 10-foot wide clock was delivered to the offices in 1939 and was intended to be proudly displayed on the 90-foot tower at the site.

However, the war interrupted construction work and the clock was returned to the building's basement, where it lay undiscovered for half a century.

It wasn't until staff stumbled upon the clock, complete with hands measuring five feet, that it could be put in its rightful place in 1992.

Home Ales was taken over by Scottish and Newcastle in 1986, with the final barrel leaving the site a decade later.

In recognition of the man behind Home Brewery, a new road between Hucknall Road and Nottingham Road was named Sir John Robinson Way.

However, the iconic building remains, a memento of the county's strong brewing heritage.