Shepherd Neame Ltd Ceramic Ashtray

Shepherd Neame Ltd ashtray dating from the 1930s. Shepherd Neame is Britain's oldest brewer and while 1698 is the official founding date, there is clear evidence that its heritage pre-dates this. John Castlock was brewing on the same site in 1570, and in 1653 the brewery passed to Thomas Hilton. Richard Marsh leased it from Hilton's executors in 1678 and, in 1698, Marsh purchased the brewery, thereby signalling the official start of the brewery's history. The Company was acquired by Samuel Shepherd in 1732 when he married Marsh's daughter-in-law, Mary. In 1864, a new brewhouse and stores were built, and Percy Beale Neame became a partner. The Company traded as Shepherd Neame & Co. and by 1874 it owned over 100 public houses. Percy Beale Neame died in 1913 and the following year the business was registered as Shepherd Neame & Co. Ltd. The name was changed to Shepherd Neame Ltd in 1919. The Company continued to grow and in 1956 it purchased and closed E.Mason & Co.'s Waterside Brewery of Maidstone, with 80 public houses. In 2004 a new keg plant and distribution centre were built, followed by a new cask packing operation in 2007 and new bottling line in 2009. Shepherd Neame boasts an award-winning visitor centre and an estate totalling more than 300 pubs and hotels throughout London and the South East. The manufacturer's mark states - The Associated Potteries Co. Sole Proprietors Hancock, Corfield & Waller Ltd Mitcham London & the Potteries.