Eldridge, Pope & Co. Ltd Ceramic Jug

Eldridge, Pope & Co. Ltd ceramic jug dating from the 1930s. In 1837 Charles and Sarah Eldridge leased the small Green Dragon Brewery in Dorchester. Sarah continued to run the brewery after her husband's death in 1846 forming a partnership with another brewer, Samuel Mason, and traded as Eldridge, Mason & Co. The Eldridge family also operated the Pale Ale Brewery in Dorchester from 1854. Mason retired in 1870 and sold his stake to Edwin Pope who renamed the Company Eldridge, Pope & Co. By 1872 the Pope family was in full control of the Company and construction started in 1880 on a new brewery. The Dorchester Brewery was opened in 1881 and was registered in 1897. The two earlier breweries were closed. From 1886 to 1922 Eldridge Pope acquired the breweries and public houses of four companies including, Edward Snelling's Hyde Street Brewery of Winchester in 1886, Styring & Co. Poole Brewery in 1905, the Marnhull and Tisbury breweries of Jennings Styring White & Co. in 1913, and Woolmington Brothers of Sherborne in 1922. In 1921 Clement Pope acquired the rights to the famous Huntsman trademark which was created by Sir Joseph Causton. In 1922 the Dorchester Brewery was gutted by a huge fire which destroyed several buildings. Brewing did not recommence until 1925. During the 1950s and 1960s business flourished and Eldridge, Pope & Co. Ltd gained a reputation for its high quality beers. The pub estate also expanded. In 1984 the Company became 'UK Wine Merchant of the Year' an accolade awarded for another part of its business. In 1996 the Pope family took the calamitous decision to become a pub retailer and brewing ceased. In 1997 the management of brewery purchased the business but not the site. They named the Company Thomas Hardy Brewery. In 1998 it merged with the Burtonwood Brewery Co. (Forshaws) Ltd and became Thomas Hardy Burtonwood. In 2003 Thomas Hardy Burtonwood offered to buy the Dorchester Brewery site from Eldridge, Pope & Co. Ltd but this was rejected and the site was sold to Landwith Properties. The Dorchester Brewery was closed soon afterwards. The pub estate was acquired by Marstons PLC in 2007. Most of the Dorchester Brewery was demolished in 2020. The manufacturer's mark states - James Green & Nephew Ltd Manufacturers London & Hanley