Jennings Brothers Ltd Ceramic Matchstriker

Jennings Brothers Ltd ceramic matchstriker dating from the 1900s. The Company was established as a family concern in 1828 in the village of Lorton, between Buttermere and Cockermouth in the Lake District. The brewery was started by John Jennings, son of William Jennings, a maltster. Jennings brewed exclusively in Lorton until 1874 when it purchased Horace Wyndham's Castle Brewery in Cockermouth. The Lorton brewery closed in 1881. Three Jennings brothers registered the business in 1887 with 41 public houses. The Company purchased a number of small local Westmorland breweries in 1921 and Faulder's Brewery Co. Ltd's Browfoot Brewery of Keswick in 1927. The Company remained in the family until 2005 when it was purchased by Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries Ltd with 127 public houses. The distribution centre in Workington was closed shortly afterwards. After the business was renamed Marston's PLC in 2007 some investment was made on the Cockermouth site including the expansion of its fermenting and racking capacity. A merger of Martson's PLC and the UK arm of the Carlsberg Group in 2020 was the start of the demise of the Castle Brewery which was closed in late 2022. The manufacturer's mark states - J.A.Campbell 61 Royal Avenue Belfast