H.E.Thornley Round Copper

H.E.Thornley copper tray dating from 1921. Henry Edward Thornley was originally a farmer, however by 1898 he had broadened his business interests and commenced brewing at his home, Radford Hall, in Leamington Spa. In 1902 he built the Radford Hall Brewery at Radford Semele, and employed an agent, H.Bradshaw. The business traded as Thornley & Co. Its ales and stouts quickly gained a strong reputation and the Company acquired its first public houses. In 1920, when trading as H.E.Thornley, one of its ales was awarded Champion Beer at the Brewing & Allied Trades Exhibition. In 1933 the Company was registered as H.E.Thornley Ltd and in the same year it merged with Benjamin Kelsey Ltd, of Birmingham, to form Thornley Kelsey Ltd. The Company continued to brew quality beers and was awarded a Silver Medal at the Brewing Bottling and Allied Trades Exhibition held in London in 1960. Kelsey's Henry Street Brewery closed in the early 1960s whilst the Radford Hall Brewery continued to brew until 1968. Most of the Company's tied houses were sold to John Davenport & Sons Ltd. The Radford Hall Brewery was demolished.