Thornley Kelsey Ltd Round Tin

Thornley Kelsey Ltd tin tray dating from the 1950s. The Company was formed as a result of a merger between Benjamin Kelsey Ltd and H.E.Thornley Ltd in 1933 becoming Thornley Kelsey Ltd. Benjamin Kelsey Ltd was founded on Henry Street, Ashted Row, in Birmingham in 1859. The firm also owned maltings on Windsor Street in Birmingham. The more dominant business, however, was that of H.E.Thornley Ltd. Henry Edward Thornley was originally a farmer, but in 1898 he broadened his business interests and began brewing at his home, Radford Hall, in Leamington Spa. In 1902 he built the Radford Hall Brewery at Radford Semele, and employed an agent, H.Bradshaw. The business traded as Thornley & Co. Its ales and stouts quickly gained a strong reputation and the Company acquired its first public houses. In 1920, when trading as H.E.Thornley, one of its ales was awarded Champion Beer at the Brewing & Allied Trades Exhibition. In 1933 the Company was registered as H.E.Thornley Ltd and in the same year it merged with Benjamin Kelsey Ltd, of Birmingham, to form Thornley Kelsey Ltd. Most of Thornley Kelsey Ltd's brewing was concentrated at Leamington Spa. The Company continued to produce quality beers and was awarded a Silver Medal at the Brewing Bottling and Allied Trades Exhibition held in London in 1960. Kelsey's Henry Street Brewery closed in the early 1960s whilst the Radford Hall Brewery continued to brew until 1968. Most of the Company's tied houses were sold to John Davenport & Sons Ltd. The Radford Hall Brewery was demolished. The manufacturer's mark states - Reginald Corfield Ltd Lombard Road London S.W.19. 56 10