Clinch & Co. Ltd Round Black Backed Steel

Clinch & Co. Ltd black backed steel tray dating from the late 1930s. James Clinch founded the first Clinch Brewery in the early 1810s. In 1890 the Clinch family purchased the Blanket Hall Brewery, later named the Eagle Brewery, in Witney and in 1892 the business began to trade as Clinch & Co. Before WWII the Company experienced mixed fortunes. Whilst its ales were awarded brewing medals in 1937, the poor state of its public houses was causing financial difficulties. After the War it was a different story and the Company continued to grow making it vulnerable for a takeover by a large national brewer. This duly arrived in 1962 when the Eagle Brewery and its public houses was acquired by Courage, Barclay, Simonds & Co. Ltd and brewing ceased in 1963. The Company was eventually liquidated in 1967 and most of the brewery was demolished in 1979. The remains of the brewery and its maltings lay dormant until the 1980s when it was purchased by Paddy Glenny. Part of the original brewery was used to create the Wychwood Brewery Ltd as it became named in 1990. In 2002 the brewery was acquired by a subsidiary of Marstons PLC and is still brewing successfully in the maltings of Clinch's original Eagle Brewery. The manufacturer's mark states - Reginald Corfield Ltd Lombard Road.London.S.W.19.