Phipps Northampton Brewery Co. Ltd (Owned by Watney Mann Ltd) Round Tin

Phipps Northampton Brewery Ltd tin tray dating from the early 1960s. The business was founded in Towcester by Pickering Phipps in 1801. in 1817 Pickering Phipps opened a new brewery on Bridge Street in Northampton. In 1824 the firm was trading as Phipps, Pickering & Sons brewers and maltsters, his sons Edward, Richard and Thomas having joined their father. By 1840 the business was trading as Richard & Thomas Phipps but Richard died soon afterwards leaving Thomas in sole charge of the family brewery, In 1843 Thomas brought in 16 year old Pickering junior and he was joined later by Richard junior. Thomas died in 1858 and the business began trading as Pickering and Richard Phipps & Co. In 1868 a new five story brewery was built on the same site which significantly increased brewing capacity. A new brewhouse was built on Towcester High Street in 1874 and this also added to capacity. After the retirement of Richard junior, the Company was registered as Pickering Phipps & Co. (Northampton & Towcester Breweries) Ltd. in 1881. By the end of the 19th century the Company had become the largest brewer in the Midlands. In 1899 the Company purchased Ratliff & Jeffrey Ltd's Albion Brewery of Northampton, with 135 tied houses. In 1902 the Towcester Brewery was destroyed by fire finally causing its closure in 1905. Early in the 1900s the business also suffered from water issues which affected the quality of its ales. In addition personnel problems, including fraud, and internal management disagreements caused financial decline. After World War I business improved aided by the takeover of Hipwell & Co. of Olney with 20 public houses. In 1933 the Company acquired local Northampton competitor T.Manning & Co. Ltd's Castle Brewery with 43 public houses. At an AGM in 1939 the business name was changed to P.Phipps & Co. Ltd removing reference to its Towcester connections. The Company's final acquistion was Campbell Praed & Co. Ltd with 107 public houses in 1954. Phipps & Co. Ltd merged with the Northampton Brewery Co. Ltd in 1957 and was renamed Phipps Northampton Brewery Co. Ltd but on advertising material it was always shown as Phipps NBC. The merged Company's estate totalled 1131 tied houses, 711 from Phipps and 420 from NBC. In 1960, London based brewer Watney Mann Ltd was successful in its bid to takeover Phipps Northampton Brewery Co. Ltd. In 1964 the Company name was shortened to Phipps' Brewery Ltd. By 1968, all traditional draught ales were discontinued and the Company was renamed Watney Mann (Midlands) Ltd. Watney Mann Ltd was acquired by Grand Metropolitan Hotels Ltd in 1972 and the Bridge Street Brewery closed in 1974 with most of the original brewery being demolished. The Phoenix Brewery once owned by Northampton Brewery Co. Ltd was closed and demolished in 1973. A modern lager brewery was built on the Bridge Street site by Carlsberg UK Ltd. The Phipps' brand name was re-introduced when part of Ratliff & Jeffrey Ltd's old Albion Brewery was renovated and brewing commenced in 2014.