Mann, Crossman & Paulin Ltd Ceramic Jug

Mann, Crossman & Paulin Ltd ceramic jug dating from the 1930s.

The Formation of Mann, Crossman & Paulin

The Albion Brewery was built near Mile End Road, Whitechapel, in 1808 by Richard Ivory, the landlord of the Blind Beggar pub.
Its first brewer was John Hoffman who went bankrupt.
The brewery was offered for sale and was purchased by Philip Betts Blake and James Mann in 1819.
The Company traded as Blake & Mann until 1826 when Blake retired and it was then purchased outright by James Mann.
In 1843 his sons, James and Edward were admitted as junior partners and the Company traded as Mann & Sons. His third son, Thomas also worked at the brewery.
Edward and his father both died in 1844 leaving James as the firm's sole owner.
James employed Robert Crossman as a partner in 1846 and the Company traded as Mann Crossman for less than a year. Then Thomas Paulin became a partner and the Company name was changed to Mann, Crossman & Paulin in 1847.

Mann, Crossman & Paulin Expansion

James Mann retired in 1847 leaving Thomas Mann as the owner of the firm.
The business went from strength to strength throughout the 19th Century and the Albion Brewery was rebuilt and modernised between 1860 and 1863, becoming one of the most advanced breweries of that time.
In 1865 the Company introduced its famous George & Dragon emblem which was officially registered as a trade mark in 1876.
By 1880 Mann, Crossman, Paulin & Company was the ninth largest brewery in the country.
As the Company continued to trade successfully, a new Burton brewery, also named the Albion Brewery, was built in 1875 and continued to brew on Shobnall Road until 1896.
The Company was registered as Mann, Crossman & Paulin Ltd in 1901 and new bottling stores were built at Raven Row, originally the site of a Whitechapel workhouse.
The Burton-on-Trent site was sold to Marston, Thompson & Evershed Ltd in 1902.

Further Expansion Through Acquisition

Between the two World Wars, the Company pursued a policy of acquisition.
In 1919 it acquired the Stamford Hill Brewery of Mitchell, Goodman, Young & Co. Ltd.
Brandon's Brewery Ltd of Putney, with 76 public houses, was acquired in 1920 and brewing continued there until 1949.
Best's Brewery Co. Ltd of Clapham, The Hornchurch Brewery Co. Ltd, and Henry Luker & Co. Ltd of Southend-on-Sea, were purchased in 1924, 1925 and 1929 respectively, adding a further 50 public houses to the Company's estate.
The final acquisItion, that of Benjamin Bennett's Dunstable brewery, with 59 tied houses, was completed in 1938.
During the Second World War the brewery suffered bomb damage and sadly the stables took a direct hit, killing and injuring many of its famous shire horses.

Post-War Trading & the Watney, Combe, Reid & Co. Ltd Merger

In 1956 the Company purchased a few public houses in Coventry, however Mann's beers did not suit the Midlands palate, resulting in a distribution agreement with Atkinsons Brewery Ltd of Birmingham whereby Atkinsons sold Manns' bottled beers and Manns sold Atkinsons' draught beers in their respective tied houses.
Mann, Crossman & Paulin Ltd merged with Watney, Combe, Reid & Co. Ltd in 1958 to form Watney Mann Ltd.
The Albion Brewery continued brewing until 1979 when Grand Metroplitan plc, which had acquired Watney Mann Ltd in 1972, closed the site despite reassurances to the contrary.
In the 1990s the entrance was converted into flats and the site of the brewery became a supermarket.
The popularity of the Mann's Brown Ale brand has enabled it to survive and it is now brewed by the Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company.

The manufacturer's mark states - Shorter Bros Elephant Pottery S.E- 1