Cobbold & Co. Ltd Ceramic Ashtray

Cobbold & Co. Ltd ashtray dating from the 1930s. The first Cobbold Brewery was founded by Thomas Cobbold in Harwich in 1723. A second brewery, the Cobbold Cliff Brewery, on Cliff Lane in Ipswich, was founded in 1746. By 1790 the partnership of Cobbold & Cox was running the Harwich operations, whilst John Cobbold was managing the main brewery in Ipswich. John Cobbold died in 1835 leaving his son, Thomas, in control, and when he retired in 1840 the original Harwich brewery was closed. A second Harwich brewery was purchased by John Cavalier Cobbold in 1863, and this brewed for thirteen years until it was closed, leaving the Cliff Brewery as its only remaining operation. Between 1894 to 1896 the Cliff Brewery was completely rebuilt resulting in an impressive modern building. In 1898 the famous Wolsey's Gate with the word 'Cardinal' became a Cobbold's registered trademark. The Company traded as Cobbold & Co. with an estate of 236 public houses, until its registration in 1924 when it became Cobbold & Co. Ltd. Cobbold & Co. Ltd's Cliff Brewery merged with Tollemache's Breweries Ltd in 1957 to form Tollemache & Cobbold Breweries Ltd, with a combined estate of 451 public houses. Tollemache's Brook Street Brewery was closed in 1961. A new bottling plant was installed at the Cliff Brewery in 1973. The Company was acquired by Ellerman Shipping Lines in 1977 and subsequently by the Barclay Brothers in 1983. The Cliff Brewery was sold to the Brent Walker Group and this resulted in its closure in 1989 when it was decided to contract brew Tolly Cobbold beers at J.W.Cameron & Co. Ltd's brewery in Hartlepool.. After the collapse of the Brent Walker property empire, the Cliff Brewery re-opened after a management buy-out in 1991 but sadly closed again in 2003 and it was purchased by T.D.Ridley & Co. Ltd. The Cliff Brewery became a listed building. There is no manufacturer's mark on this ashtray. There are two almost identical versions of this ashtray, the one pictured with the words Dark Stock Ale on the left hand side and Light Pale Ale on the right hand side, and the other with these words switched.