Daniel Thwaites & Co. Ltd Round Alloy

Daniel Thwaites & Co. Ltd alloy tray datimg from the 1950s.

Daniel Thwaites The Early Years

The Eanam Brewery was founded by Daniel Thwaites, with two partners William Clayton and Edward Duckworth, in Blackburn in 1807.
By 1824 Daniel had become the firm's sole owner.
After the death of Daniel Thwaites his brothers Daniel junior and Thomas, inherited the brewery.
Daniel junior became the Company's sole owner in 1858, and he, like his father had previously, continued to grow its success by reinvesting in the business.
In 1863 Daniel purchased the Snig Brook Brewery in Blackburn, and also began building public houses in the local area.
The Company's 'Two Lions Supporting a Shield' trade mark, was registered in 1882.
Daniel junior died in 1888, leaving his daughter, Elma Thwaites, and her husband Robert Yerburgh, to carry on running the business, which they did very successfully.
In order to support future growth, the Company was registered in 1897 as Daniel Thwaites & Co. Ltd.

20th Century Trading

Real expansion occurred after WWI when the Company began purchasing other breweries.
Henry Shaw & Co. Ltd of Salford, with 87 public houses, was acquired in 1924, and the Fountain Free Co. Ltd of Accrington, with 17 public houses, was acquired in 1927.
The Company began bottling its beers in 1925, including its famous 'Double Ben'.
Further acquisitions during the 1940s and 1950s included the Bury Brewery Co. Ltd, with 80 public houses, in 1946, and Preston Breweries Ltd, with 17 tied houses in 1956.
In 1946 Elma Yerburgh died, leaving her colleague Albert Whittle to run the brewery.
The Eanam Brewery, based on Penny Street in Blackburn, was so named until 1948 when it was changed to the Star Brewery.
In 1960, the Company reintroduced two dray horses to deliver its beers in Blackburn City Centre.
In 1966 the Star Brewery was extended to include a new brewhouse and, in 1972, a new state-of-the-art bottling plant was added.
Elma Yerburgh's grandson, John Yerburgh, was the Company's Chairman throughout the majority of the 1970s and 1980s.
In 1978 Thwaites became a CAMRA favourite when the firm was awarded first prize at the Great British Beer Festival for its Mild. The Company won may other brewing prizes too.
Thwaites acquired Yates & Jackson Ltd of Lancaster in 1984.
From 2000 until 2019 Ann Yerburgh was Thwaites Chairperson.
In 2011 a new craft brewery named Crafty Dan was installed within the Star Brewery site .
In 2014 Thwaites began to contract out the brewing of a range of its core beers to Marstons PLC leading to the sale of part of its beer company, free trade accounts and two key brands, Wainwrights and Lancaster Bomber, in 2015.

New Brewery at Mellor Brook

In 2018 the Star Brewery was trashed by travellers who invaded the site.
Later that year the brewery in Blackburn was closed, and the following year it was demolished.
A new business including a brewhouse, stables and head office was created at Sykes Holt, near Mellor Brook, about five miles from the original Blackburn site. The new venture was renamed 'House of Daniel Thwaites' brewing vastly reduced volumes of specialist ales to its own pubs.
Marstons PLC continues to supply Thwaites' 270 property portfolio of inns and hotels, with core beers once owned by them.

The tray featured is an alloy tray from the 1950s, an exact replica being made of tin in the 1960s.
The manufacturer's mark states - 6 MB