Brewers of Burton

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Burton upon Trent had a unique position in the history of brewing, exporting beer throughout the world and accounting for a quarter of UK beer production at one time. The town itself was dominated by the industry throughout the 19th century as much of its area was given over to brewery production. Hence Brewers of Burton dominated the town politically and socially, with the names Bass, Gretton, Allsopp, Worthington Ratcliffe and Salt appearing in all positions of authority. Many brewers were ennobled, creating a subgroup of the Peerage, nicknamed the Beerage. Yet an industry that had over 30 participants in 1881 had declined to eight in 1927 and many famous names disappeared from the shelves.

Brewers and brewing companies are not synonymous with breweries. Some brewers had more than one brewery and brewery buildings sometimes changed hands. A further complication is that pre-existing brewers from outside Burton moved into the town in the 1870s. Here follows a roughly chronological list of known brewers. ^[1]

Benjamin Printon 1708 - bought by James Musgrave 1729
James Musgrave (and sons) 1729 - bought by John Greaves 1803
Samuel and William Sketchley c1741- bought by Benjamin Wilson 1790
Benjamin Wilson 1743- bought by nephew Samuel Allsopp 1807
Joseph Clay c1751- passed to Thomas Salt 1813
Charles Leeson c1753-1800
William Worthington 1760- bought by Bass 1927
Thomas Morecroft
Thomas Dicken
William Bass 1777- bought by Coors 2000
Henry Evans (1790- settled on son in law William Worthington
John Walker Wilson -1790
Hill and Sherratts c1780 –partnership dissolved 1820, bought by Lewis Meakin 1822
John Greaves 1803- went bankrupt 1815 – run by Mason and Gilbertson by 1830
Samuel Allsopp 1807- merged with Ind Coope 1913
Thomas Salt 1813- acquired by Bass 1927
Lewis Meakin 1822- acquired by Charrington 1872
Charles Hill
Mason and Gilbertson 1830-
John Marston 1834- merged with Thompson 1898
Saunders 1837-
Burton Brewery Company 1842- bought by Worthington 1915
Ind Coope 1856 - went into receivership in 1909 and merged with Allsopp in 1913
Charrington (Head & Co) existing London brewer 1872 - ceased brewing in Burton 1926
Truman, Hanbury & Buxton existing London brewer 1873-1971
Mann, Crossman & Paulin existing London brewer 1874 - merged with Watney 1958
Peter Walker 1876- acquired by Bass 1923
Sydney Evershed pre 1880- merged with Marston Thompson 1909
John Thompson pre 1880- merged with Marston 1898
John Bell & Co. pre 1880- bought by Thomas Salt 1901
Henry Boddington & Co existing Manchester brewer - bought by Everard 1892
James Eadie,. pre1880 - Bought by Bass 1933
Thomas Sykes 1881- taken over by Everard 1898
William Everard existing Leicester brewer 1892-1985
Marston and Thompson 1898- merged with Evershed to form Marston Thompson Evershed 1909
Marston Thompson Evershed 1909-1999 bought by Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries PLC The Marston's Brewery also produces Bass under licence from InBev
Coors Brewers Limited UK arm of Molson Coors Brewing Company a brewery from the United States
Burton Bridge Brewery, a local company
Tower Brewery, a new microbrewery
Cottage Brewery, based in the Old Cottage Inn