E.Lacon & Co. Ltd Rectangular Black Backed Steel

E.Lacon & Co Ltd black backed steel tray dating from the 1930s.

Early Beginnings of the Falcon Brewery

In 1640, Jeffrey Ward operated a brewery on Church Plain, Great Yarmouth, on a site which was to become the Falcon Brewery. Jeffrey's son, George, and then his grandson, Robert, managed the brewery in succession until 1741, when Robert died. His widow, then employed John Lacon to run the business in partnership.
John Lacon became the sole owner of the firm when she died in 1760, and thus Lacons brewery was formed.
During the 1800s the Company experienced significant growth, as evidenced that it owned three maltings and two breweries in Great Yarmouth, by 1810.
In 1814 Lacons sold over 20,000 pints of beer at a festival dinner held in Great Yarmouth to celebrate the defeat of Napolean.
By 1866 Lacons was producing a 100,000 barrels of beer a year, 50% of which were distributed for the London market.
The Company, with 204 public houses, was registered as E.Lacon & Co. Ltd in 1894.

20th Century History

In 1919 E.Lacon & Co. Ltd purchased another Eagle Brewery in Rant Score, Lowestoft, from Youngman & Preston. Brewing ceased there in 1922.
The brewery was bombed by the Luftwaffe in 1942, but fortunately it was saved by firefighters.
Lacons became a public company in 1952.
In 1957 the Lacon's directors sold 20% of their shares to Whitbread & Co. Ltd, and by 1965 the Company, its Falcon Brewery, and 354 public houses, had been acquired by them.
Whitbread's closed the Falcon Brewery in 1968.
The Lacon's brand names ended up with Interbrew, later named AB-InBev, when Whitbread's was acquired in 2001.

Lacons Resurrection

In 2009, Mick Carver acquired the rights to Lacons name and intellectual property.
He worked with William Lacon, son of the last Lacon's family member to work at the Falcon Brewery.
Head Brewer, Wil Wood spent six months developing Lacons ales from the firm's original yeast culture, which had been deposited and frozen at The National Yeast Bank in 1957.
Lacons reclaimed independence and launched its new beers in 2013.
The Company continues to brew in Great Yarmouth, and has its headquarters and depot in Lowestoft.