Northampton Brewery Co. Ltd Square Tin

Northampton Brewery Co. Ltd tin tray dating from 1953. The brewery was built in 1856 on Bridge Street, Northampton, for Thomas Phillips who later owned the Dock Brewery in Newport, Gwent. In 1868 Samuel Lipscomb Seckham became a partner having provided additional capital for the business. In 1869 the well recognised NBC star trademark was introduced and in1874 Seckham became the sole owner and re-named the site the Phoenix Brewery. The Company was registered as the Northampton Brewery Co. Ltd (N.B.C.) in 1887. From 1900 until the 1920s trading proved difficult and this was not helped by the onset of World War I and a fire which damaged the brewery in 1916. Between the two World Wars, N.B.C. continued to struggle although it did purchase Eady & Dulley Ltd of Market Harborough with 42 licensed houses, in 1929. After World War II the Company began to re-invest in the business including the acquisition of Phillips Stamford Brewery Ltd with 70 public houses in 1952, and a major re-build of the brewery in 1954. In order to maximise opportunities arising from the sale of bottled beers and take advantage of reduced costs, NBC merged with Phipps & Co. Ltd in 1957 with 420 public houses. The new Company was named Phipps Northampton Brewery Co. Ltd. The Company was acquired by Watney Mann Ltd in 1960. In 1964 the name of the Company was shortened to Phipp's Brewery Ltd and this changed again to Watney Mann (Midlands) Ltd in 1968. The last batch of real ale was produced in May 1968. Watney Mann Ltd was acquired by Grand Metropolitan Hotels Ltd in 1972 and the Phoenix Brewery closed shortly afterwards in 1974. The brewery was demolished and a massive new modern lager brewery was built on the same site by Carlsberg-Tetley in the 1970s and is still operating. The manufacturer's mark states - Reginald Corfield Ltd Lombard Road, London. S.W.19.