Charles Watkins & Sons Round Brass

Charles Watkins & Sons brass tray dating from the 1880s.

Charles Watkins Brewery Origins

Charles Watkins started as an innkeeper on Elgin Street in Herefotd in 1834, and then around 1850 he purchased the Imperial Inn, on Widemarsh Street, which had a brewhouse.
After 1858 he acquired the Hereford Brewery, on Bewell Street, which had been founded by J.G.Reynolds in 1834. Charles Watkins renamed it the Imperial Brewery around 1884.
Watkin's Sunlight Golden Ale was awarded a Gold Medal at the International Exhibition in 1886.
When he retired in 1898 his son, Alfred Watkins, sold the Company to the Tredegar Brewery Co.

The Tredegar & Hereford Brewery Co. Ltd

The newly formed Company, with 40 public houses, was registered as the Tredegar & Hereford Brewery Co. Ltd, and all brewing was transferred to the Imperial Brewery.
For a brief period from 1899 to 1902, the Company came under the control of Samuel Allsopp & Sons Ltd.
In 1907 the Imperial Brewery was modernised and extended.
The firm's tied estate increased to over 70 public houses, and over 200 agencies were established in order to sell its Mild, Pales Ales, Old Hereford Ale, Cream Stout, and Porter beers.
The Imperial Brewery was purchased by the Cheltenham Original Brewery Co. Ltd in 1945.

Cheltenham & Hereford Breweries Ltd

A new Company was formed named Cheltenham & Hereford Breweries Ltd.
Cheltenham & Hereford Breweries Ltd closed the Imperial Brewery in 1960.
The majority of its public houses were sold to Rhymney Breweries Ltd.
The Imperial Brewery was demolished in the early 1960s, and is now a supermarket.
The Imperial Inn still trades on Widemarsh Street.

The manufacturer's mark states - H J.Turner (Groves Patent 1883) Moseley Birm.m