William Butler & Co. Ltd Brass Bell

Owned
SKU
OB0098
William Butler & Co. Ltd brass bell dating from the 1930s. The Springfield Brewery was based in Wolverhampton, West Midlands.
William Butler & Co. Ltd brass bell dating from the 1930s. William Butler founded the Priestfield Brewery in Bilston in 1833. The business began as a small concern and it involved William delivering his beer to his customers in a wheelbarrow. In the 1860s, as the firm prospered and William moved closer to retirement, he employed a number of key people including Thomas Salt. Thomas was a brewer employed by Butler's for over twenty years, who was promoted to the Company's Managing Director. The brewery became known as the Ettingshall New Village Brewery. In the 1870s William could no longer run the business on his own and so he formed a partnership with Thomas Russell, an energetic and resourceful leader. The business grew rapidly and the brewery was constantly brewing at its capacity. The supply of water became a problem which required a new solution. A new site at Springfield in Wolverhampton was purchased, and a new brewery began production in 1874. When the Springfield Brewery opened, most of the staff moved from the old brewery which ceased brewing but remained as a malting and storage facility. The old Priestfield Brewery eventually closed in 1920. Growth at the new brewery was rapid although William Butler and Thomas Russell became bitter rivals when Thomas left to start his own business at the Great Western Brewery. William formed a new partnership with George Parkes and William Hodson. Three years after Hodson's arrival the Company's sales had doubled. In the late 1870s and the 1880s, the Springfield Brewery was extended twice and new modern equipment was installed. The business continued to move from strength to strength but in 1890 William Hodson died which resulted in William Butler registering the Company as William Butler & Co. Ltd in 1891. In 1893 the founder William Butler died and Lawrence Hodson became the new Chairman. By the turn of the twentieth century the Company employed more than 300 people. In 1900 the Company entered a new era concentrating its expansion through numerous acquisitions. Its first was H.Plant & Sons wine and spirit merchants with a few licensed houses. In 1907 the Old Man and Glass trademark was introduced. After the First World War acquisitions increased apace. James Cahill's Swan Brewery in Wolverhampton was purchased in 1919 followed by four acquistions in the 1920s. Jack Downing's Black Horse Brewery in Dudley, with 20 public houses, was purchased in 1923, the Bloxwich Brewery Co. Ltd with 42 tied houses was acquired in 1925, along with a number of public houses owned by William Blencowe & Co. Ltd in Cannock, and Eley's Stafford Brewery Ltd was taken over in 1928 with over 150 public houses. Butler's Eagle trademark was registered in 1924. In 1932 Butler's took revenge on Thomas Russell when it acquired his Great Western Brewery which it immediately closed. All the public houses of the West Midlands Working Men's Club Brewery Co. Ltd were acquired in 1932. After the Second World War had ended Butler's purchased William Bowen Ltd in West Bromwich, and Thomas Oliver Ltd in Sandwell in 1945, James Pritchard & Son in Darlaston in 1946, and Radcliffe & Co. Ltd's Cross Brewery in Kidderminster with 40 public houses in 1947. The Springfield Brewery was acquired by Mitchells & Butlers Ltd of Smethwick in 1960. Mitchells & Butlers Ltd merged with Bass, Ratcliff & Gretton Ltd in 1961 to form Bass, Mitchells & Butlers Ltd. A further merger with Charrington United Breweries Ltd resulted in the Springfield Brewery becoming part of Bass Charrington Ltd from 1967. Bottling ceased at the Springfield Brewery in 1971, but brewing continued until its closure in 1991. The site lay derelict for many years although the buildings were listed in 1977. Sadly the old brewery buildings were all but destroyed by a fire after an arson attack in 2004.
More Information
Breweriana Manufacturer Unknown
Brewery Origin England
Reverse Finish Standard
Year Of Manufacture 1930
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