More than 50 years of brewing history comes to an end this week when a cider company finally severs its connection with Sussex.

About two thirds of the workforce at Merrydown's plant in Horam, near Heathfield, will walk out for the final time early on Friday following the company's decision earlier this year to shut the site.

Production will stop for good, although the company will keep a small presence of office staff at the site until the end of February.

Merrydown, which makes the Shloer soft fruit and Merrydown cider brands, has had a connection with the small East Sussex village since 1946.

The company was founded by friends Jack Ward and Ian Howie as an attempt to bring cider-making back home to England.

The first batch of Merrydown Vintage Cider was fermented from 450 gallons of apple juice and within a year the scale of production had outgrown Mr Ward's garage at his home in Rotherfield and the partners bought Horam Manor, with seven acres of land.

Merrydown decided to close the plant because further investment could not be justified because of the small manufacturing capacity.

The company will now move its offices to Reigate, Surrey, where the Shloer team is based. Production will be moved to a number of sub-contractors.

Chris Carr, managing director of Merrydown's cider division, said the decision to close was hard but inevitable given the plant's limitations.

He said: "When the site was bought for a few hundred pounds I don't think anyone imagined we would be turning out 18,000 cases every 24 hours.

"Obviously we have outgrown the site and, while that is sad, businesses sometimes have to move on and I think everyone understands that."

Merrydown was at the forefront of the mid-Nineties boom in alcopops with its hugely successful marketing of alcoholic lemonade Two Dogs.

The drink was an instant hit, with more than a million bottles being ordered between August and Christmas in 1995.

Turnover reached £19.5 million in 1997 and then slumped to £11.5 million in six months, forcing Merrydown to axe staff, cut production and sell the Two Dogs brand to go back to making good quality cider and apple juice.

The company made a profit of £1.7 million in the last financial year.

At its peak, the Horam factory employed more than 125 but now about 35 staff face redundancy.

Mr Carr said most have been able to find new jobs.

He added: "It is very encouraging that nearly everyone will be going on to other employment. They are going into good jobs, which is not surprising really because we have a great crew who work very hard."

As a goodbye gesture, the company organised a trip to London to see a West End show at the weekend before staff and their partners enjoyed a party at the Horam Inn.

When the closure was announced in July, the news shocked people living in Horam as the plant was the village's main employer.

Merrydown has vowed to work closely with residents about how to make the best use of the site.

Michael Bustard, chairman of Horam Parish Council, said: "There is no doubt we need jobs in this area so we would rather it remained commercial. But if that is not possible then we would look for a mixture of housing and commercial property."

The council is holding a meeting on December 8 to examine the future of the site.