Charrington & Co. Ltd Deep Round Tin

Charrington & Co. Ltd tin tray dating from the 1960s.

The Early Years

The Company was founded in Bethnal Green by Robert Westfield in the early 1700s.
In 1766 John Charrington joined the business, which then traded as Westfield, Moss & Charrington, from the Anchor Brewery on Mile End Road. By 1783 John Charrington, and his brother Henry, were in full control of the Company.
By 1807 Charrington's was the second largest brewer in London.
When John Charrington died in 1815, the business was continued by his brother Henry, and his son, Nicholas.
The firm acquired Steward & Head in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1833, and subsequently traded as Charrington, Head & Co.
Nicolas Charrington died in 1859 and was succeeded by his sons, Edward and Spencer.
The Company took over Lewis Meakin's Abbey Brewery, based in Burton-on-Trent in 1872, resulting in the ownership of two separately run businesses.
Following the death of Head in 1880, the Company became Charrington & Co.
The two breweries in London and Burton-on-Trent were acquired in 1899 as one Company, and were registered as Charrington & Co. Ltd.

The Expansion Years 1900 to 1960

In a sixty year period from 1897 to 1960, Charrington & Co. Ltd acquired eleven breweries and also the public houses of Charles Hammerton & Co. Ltd.
Notable early purchases included, Campbell-Johnstone & Co. Ltd of London, with 100 public houses, in 1909, and Seabrooke & Sons Ltd of Grays, with 120 public houses, in 1929.
In 1926 Charrington's sold its Abbey Brewery, with 86 public houses, in Burton-on-Trent, and transferred all Pale Ale production to the Anchor Brewery, thus ending ties with the brewing capital.
Charrington's built its first of large bottling store in 1929, and by 1954, it had three high speed bottling lines operating at the Anchor Brewery.
One significant acquisition in the 1930s was that of Hoare & Co. Ltd, with circa 500 public houses, whose famous 'Toby' trademark, which had been registered in 1907, was immediately adopted by Charrington & Co. Ltd.
Significant later purchases included Thompson & Son Ltd of Walmer, with 100 public houses, in 1952, Kenward & Court Ltd of Hadlow, with 46 tied houses, in 1952, the Kemp Town Brewery (Brighton) Ltd, with 236 public houses, in 1954, and finally Brutton, Mitchell, Toms Ltd of Yeovil, with 290 public houses, in 1960.
The Anchor Brewery merged with United Breweries Ltd in 1962, to form Charrington United Breweries Ltd.
Charrington United Breweries Ltd continued to acquire more breweries, and these included Offilers' Brewery Ltd of Derby, with 238 properties, in 1965, the Dunmow Brewery Ltd, with 50 public houses, also in 1965, and Massey's Burnley Brewery Ltd, with 312 tied houses, in 1966.

Bass Charrington Ltd is Formed

Charrington United Breweries Ltd, with over 2100 properties, finally merged with Bass, Mitchells & Butlers Ltd in 1967 to form Bass Charrington Ltd.
The Anchor Brewery closed in 1975, but remained as the Company's head office.
Bass plc, as it had become by 1997, sold all its public houses, including the Charrington estate, to a newly created business, Punch Taverns.
The brewery site, other than its offices, was demolished in 1976, becoming the Anchor Retail Park.
In 2000, the Company sold off its brands to Interbrew, later named AB InBev.

The manufacturer's mark states - Reginald Corfield Ltd Lombard Road, London. S.W.19.