Hall & Woodhouse Ltd Round Tin

Hall & Woodhouse Ltd tin tray dating from the 1960s. In 1777 Charles Hall, an entrepreneurial farmer, built his brewery in the Dorset village of Ansty. By 1793 the Napoleonic wars had begun and the British Government permitted its troops a daily allowance of five pints of beer. Charles saw an opportunity and won the licence to supply Wellington's soldiers quartered in Weymouth. Sixty years later his son, Robert Hall, who had inherited the business, brought George Edward Woodhouse into the business. Woodhouse married Charles Hall's grand-daughter, became a partner, and Hall & Woodhouse was born. Robert and Edward invested the majority of profits back into the business acquiring public houses through which to sell their ales, including 'Badger beers'. In 1875 George's sons, George Edward Woodhouse and Alfred Charles Woodhouse became new partners in the business. At that time the Badger logo was adopted. In 1882 they acquired Neame & Trew of Blandford St. Mary with twelve public houses. The Company operated both breweries, at Ansty and Blandford St. Mary, until a new brewery at Blandford St. Mary was built in 1900. The brewery was named the Badger Brewery. In that year the old Ansty brewery was damaged by a major fire causing its closure. The site was operated as a distribution depot and the malt houses continued to be used until 1940. The Company was registered in 1898 to acquire Hall & Woodhouse, of Ansty and Blandford, and Godwin Brothers of Durweston. Including Godwin's 26 properties the Hall & Woodhouse Ltd estate now totalled 105 public houses. Throughout the 20th century business continued to grow steadily. The Company maintained a slow-paced acquisition strategy purchasing Charles E Eliis Town Brewery of Wimborne in 1937, Matthews & Co Wkye Brewery of Gillingham in 1963 and King & Barnes Ltd Horsham Brewery in 2000. A new Badger Brewery was opened in 2012, a short distance from the original site built in 1900. Hall & Woodhouse now owns 180 public houses. The Badger Brewery is still operating independently and is run by the seventh and eighth generations of the family. In order to maintain the quality of the beer, Badger Beer is only served in its own tied houses. The manufacturer's mark states - 8MB Made in England