Edinburgh United Breweries Ltd David Nicholson Ceramic Jug

Edinburgh United Breweries Ltd ceramic jug dating from the 1910s.

Robert Disher & Co.

Robert Disher & Co. was based in Canongate.
The firm traded as the Edinburgh and Leith Brewery Co. but was better known as Dishers.
The Company successfully brewed a hoppy Edinburgh Pale Ale which other Scottish breweries copied, especially for export.

George Ritchie & Sons' Bell's Brewery

The brewery was started by John Bell and his son, Hugh Bell, in the mid-18th century.
When its owner, Robert Keir died in 1835, Bell's Brewery, in Pleasance, Edinburgh, was purchased by George Ritchie.
Ritchie was an established merchant and brewer.
In 1851 the Company employed 15 workers, however by 1871 this had increased to 40.
Ritchie's expanded its trade across the British Isles, reaching cities like Belfast, Cardiff, and Manchester.
It owned the Cross Keys Hotel in Peebles, and a small number of public houses in the North East of England.

David Nicolson & Son Palace Brewery

The Palace Brewery was built on Abbey Mount in Edinburgh in 1865, by J. & G.Pendreigh, grain merchants of Leith.
In 1870, the Palace Brewery was acquired by David Nicholson & Son, wine merchants in Canongate, Edinburgh.
The firm also had offices and stores in London.
The Company brewed 'Palace Pale Ale', and its trade mark was an intertwined star.

Robert McMillan & Co Summerhall Brewery

The original Summerhall Brewery was established in 1705 by Robert McClelland.
After being liquidated in 1733, the brewery purchased and run by the Bryson family during the rest of the 18th century.
The Summerhall Brewery was bought by Robert Fleming in 1815.
Robert McMillan & Co. purchased the brewery in 1862.
During a twenty year period from 1851 to 1871 its workforce increased tenfold. employing 120 men at its height.
The brewery was based in East Meadows, Edinburgh

Edinburgh United Breweries Ltd

The Company was registered as Edinburgh United Breweries Ltd in 1889 to acquire four breweries:
Edinburgh and Leith Brewery Co., better known as Robert Disher & Co., G.Ritchie & Sons Bell's Brewery, David Nicolson's Palace Brewery, and Robin McMillan & Co.'s Summerhall Brewery.
Robin McMillan & Co.'s Summerhall Brewery closed in 1911.
Both the Edinburgh and Leith Brewery of Disher & Co., and the Palace Brewery of David Nicolson, closed during WWI to conserve supplies.
The Palace Brewery building was used as a hop store until 1925. It was sold to pioneering cinema magnate, F R Graham Yooll who converted it into the 'Regent Cinema' in 1927. The cinema was closed in 1970.
Ritchie's Bell's Brewery was closed by Customs & Excise in 1935 due to brewing irregularities, and was acquired by John Jeffrey & Co. Ltd that year.
The Company, with 39 public houses, ceased trading in 1936.

The manufacturer's mark states - Fielding's Stoke on Trent