Showell's Brewery Co. Ltd Oval Black Backed Steel

Showell's Brewery Co. Ltd black backed steel tray dating from the 1900s. Walter Showell originally brewed at the Victoria Brewery on Simpson Steeet in Oldbury. In 1874, a second new Crosswells Brewery was built on the Langley Springs in Langley. The distinctive Cross Hands trademark was registered in 1874. In 1887 the business was registered as Walter Showell & Sons Ltd but renamed Showell's Brewery Co. Ltd a few years later. The Company continued to expand and in 1890 it acquired Sarah Marsland's Brookfield Brewery, near Stockport, which it formed into a separate Company, Showell's Stockport Brewery Ltd, in 1896. In 1889 a more logical decision was made to purchase a local business, George Taylor's Hockley Brewery based in Birmingham. In order to further widen its distribution, Crosswell's Brewery Ltd of Ely, Cardiff, was incorporated in 1892 to sell Showell's beers in South Wales. By purchasing the Brewers' Investment Corporation Ltd in 1894 the Company's tied estate doubled to 80 public houses and in that year 'What is I.P.A?' was trademark registered. The Company mainly owned pubs in and around Birmingham and Stockport but also acquired pubs in London and the South West of England. The firm moved its head office to Great Charles Street in Birmingham and established a warehouse and stores just off Broad Street, the canal link between Birmingham and Oldbury, thus enabling the transportation of ales between the brewery and the supply depot. As the Company had to supply and service pubs in remote locations it started to suffer financial difficulties. In 1898 the Company continued its ambitious plans for expansion with the construction of the impressive Showell's Maltings at Langley. The firm was overstretched and an economic downturn forced the sale of its London pubs in 1898 to Reffell's Bexley Brewery Ltd, and the sale of the Victoria Brewery to Jordan & Co. of Oldbury. Crosswells Brewery Ltd Welsh operations were liquidated after a lost court case in 1901, and Showell's Stockport Brewery was sold to Walker & Homfray's Ltd of Salford in 1910. Walter Showell died in 1901 and his two sons, who now ran the business, sold the remaining Midlands Company to Allsopp & Sons Ltd of Burton-on-Trent in 1914, with its estate of 194 tied houses. The Crosswells Brewery was closed, although the Langley Maltings were retained by Showells, eventually being sold to Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries Ltd in 1944. Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries Ltd used the Langley Maltings until 2006 when it sold the building. Sadly an arson attack destroyed the infrastructure in 2009 and the site was demolished. The manufacturer's mark states - B.A.T.Co.Ltd Smethwick. The tray appeared in a catalogue produced by B.A.T.Co.Ltd in the 1900s and has been photographically enhanced to reflect how it probably looked in its original state.