H. & G.Simonds Ltd Round Black Backed Steel

Owned
SKU
BT0361

H.& G.Simonds Ltd black backed steel tray dating from the late 1930s. The Bridge Street Brewery was based in Reading, Berkshire.

H. & G.Simonds Ltd black backed steel tray dating from the late 1930s. In 1765 William Simonds was a maltster in Reading and, in 1774, he decided to start brewing. He began brewing at the Old Brewery Tap at the top of Broad Street, Reading. When he died in 1782 the business passed to his only son, William Blackall Simonds. William was an ambitious man and acquired an extensive site on Seven Bridges Street, renamed Bridge Street, Reading, in 1785. There he created a large, opulent brewery and house and adopted the famous Simonds Hop Leaf trademark around the same time. Many other local breweries held a virtual monopoly on tied houses. Simonds had very few which resulted in lower than anticipated growth. William considered selling the business but his eldest son of four, Blackall Simonds, refused to let the brewery pass out of the family. In response to high pricing and poor beer quality, the 1830 Beerhouse Act proved beneficial to the business, enabling Simonds to puchase and supply public houses without a strict licence, which had favoured other breweries to this point. Simonds and its quality beers, could now trade on an equal basis. Within ten years Simonds owned the largest brewery in Reading and started to acquire its own public houses. In 1845 Blackall Simonds retired leaving his brothers Henry and George in charge. Their Christian names were later used to create H. & G.Simonds. Henry became the senior partner overseeing a period of consolidation. When Henry's son, Henry John Simonds, joined in the 1850s the Company began an era of expansion, a 'Victorian Boom'. In 1858 bottled pale ale was introduced. Henry Jr took over as senior partner in 1868 and was joined by George's son, Blackall. The period until the 1880s saw a sustained and successful marketing strategy, the main success of which was the promtion of 'S.B Pale Ale', S.B standing for 'Seasons Brew' which, by then, accounted for 50% of sales. Other successes included supply of Simonds beers to newly established barracks in Aldershot in the 1850s and a contract to supply South Western railway station refreshment rooms in the 1890s. In 1885 the Company was registered as H. & G.Simonds Ltd attracting significant outside capital investment during the next decade. This funding enabled the Simonds family to slowly build up its pub estate. In 1900 they acquired Reading brewer, Hewitt & Son, which was trading as Victoria & Co. By the beginning of WWI the Company owned over 300 public houses, doubling the total of its estate in less than twenty years. In 1905 Eric Simonds became a director of the business, proving to be a driving force during his leadership, becoming chaiman in 1938. Eric embarked on an aggressive acquisition strategy and was also responsible for placing the Hop Leaf trademark outside every public house in the Simonds estate. Between 1919 and 1939 nine, mainly South West based breweries and their public houses, were acquired and this continued after WWII when six further more sizeable companies were purchased. By the beginning of the 1950s H. & G.Simonds Ltd were operating breweries in Reading, Devonport, Bristol, Brixham, Newport and Blandford and owned 1400 public houses. During this period Eric also widened Simonds presence overseas, including Malta, where Simonds Farsons Cisk was formed in 1948 and is still operating. A further three breweries were puchased in the 1950s including C.W.Blundell (Plymouth) Ltd in 1951, Pool & Son Ltd of Penzance in 1953, and the Octagon Brewery Ltd of Torquay in 1954. At the time of Eric Simonds death in 1953, the Company owned over 1100 public houses. In the latter years of Eric Simonds' chairmanship he was ably assisted by his son Duncan who became joint Managing Director on his father's death. In 1959 H. & G.Simonds Ltd entered into a trading agreement with Courage & Barclay Ltd resulting in a merger of the two companies in 1960. The Bridge Street Brewery became part of Courage, Barclay, Simonds & Co. Ltd and by 1970 was the head quarters of Courage (Central) Ltd. The name was simplified to Courage Ltd in 1970. The Company was then acquired by the Imperial Tobacco Group Ltd in 1972. A vast new Berkshire Brewery was built at a site in Worton Grange, near Reading in 1978 and this replaced Simonds' Bridge Street Brewery which closed in 1979 and was later developed as the Oracle Shopping Centre. The Berkshire Brewery closed in 2010. The only surviving beer brands with any connection the Simonds name are Hop Leaf Pale Ale and Lacto Milk Stout. Both these bottled beers feature the old Hop Leaf trademark and are brewed at Farsons Brewery in Malta. The tray featured was produced for the Belgian export market. The manufacturer's mark states - ET.J.Schuybroek s.a.Hoboken-Anvers

More Information
Brewery Origin England
County Berkshire
Reverse Finish Black Backed
Tray Manufacturer Other Foreign
Tray Material Steel
Year Of Manufacture 1939
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