Members of Greene King's Mothers’ Group have raised a glass to 130 years of friendship and support.

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The group was formed in 1888 by Mrs E W Lake, the wife of the then managing director, with the aim of supporting the company’s wives socially and financially.

Life then was very different for women and Mrs Lake understood the difficulties many met when setting up and running a home. She arranged for Bury St Edmunds shops Plumptons and Prettys to send invoices incurred by the wives to be sent to Greene King for payment. The wives would then pay back a little each week. If they defaulted, they were not allowed on the next annual outing.

Now, the group is still going strong and meets at least three times a year. It is still known as the Mothers’ Group, but members do not have to be female or a mother – all are welcome to join and most members are now retired or current employees, rather than wives of those who work for company.

To celebrate the milestone, a party attended by more than 30 – including oldest member Myra Clelland, 82 – was held at Greene King’s Brewery Tap.

Sue Russell, Greene King welfare officer and Mothers Group chairwoman, said: “We are proud the group has survived two world wars and many changes over the years. We are a collection of women who are connected to Greene King, either because we work or have worked at the company or our husbands did.

“I am so pleased the numbers of the group continues to grow and our consensus is that we can’t let the group close – there is so much history. While we are all connected to a brewery, there’s nothing better than a natter over a nice brew of tea and cake.”