Eldridge, Pope & Co. Ltd Round Black Backed Steel

Eldridge, Pope & Co. Ltd black backed steel tray dating from the 1930s.

Foundation of Eldridge, Pope & Co.

In 1837 Charles and Sarah Eldridge leased and enlarged, the small Green Dragon Brewery, on Durngate Street, in Dorchester. Sarah continued to run the brewery after her husband's death in 1846, forming a partnership with another brewer, Samuel Mason, and traded as Eldridge, Mason & Co.
The Eldridge family also operated the Pale Ale Brewery on High Street in Dorchester, from 1854.
Mason retired in 1870 and sold his stake to Edwin Pope, who renamed the firm Eldridge, Pope & Co.
By 1872 the Pope family was in full control of the Company, with Edwin and Alfred Pope in charge.
Trading as Eldridge, Pope & Co., the Pope's started construction of a new imposing modern brewery in 1880, to replace the outgrown Durngate Street brewery.
The new Dorchester Brewery, with a railway line, was opened in 1881, and soon became the biggest employer in town.
Both the Durngate Street brewery and the Pale Ale Brewery, were closed.
The Company was registered as Eldridge, Pope & Co. Ltd in 1897. Alfred's eldest son, Rolph, also became a director of the firm that year.
In 1900 Alfred's second son, Alex, became a partner.

Brewery Acquisitions

From 1886 to 1922 Eldridge Pope acquired the breweries and public houses of four companies including, Edward Snelling's Hyde Street Brewery of Winchester, with 5 pubs, in 1886, Styring & Co.'s Poole Brewery, which was owned Alfred's third son George Pope, with 34 public houses, in 1900, the Marnhull and Tisbury breweries of Jennings Styring White & Co., with 36 public houses, in 1913, and Woolmington Brothers of Sherborne, with 8 public houses, in 1922.
When George Pope's Poole Brewery was purchased, he also became a director, with the result that five Popes's, Alfred, Edwin, Rolph, Alex and George controlled the Company.
In 1913 Alfred's fourth son, Clement, joined the Board of Directors.
In 1921 Clement Pope acquired the rights to the famous Huntsman trademark which was created by Sir Joseph Causton.
In 1922 the Dorchester Brewery was gutted by a huge fire which destroyed several buildings. Between 1922 and 1924 Rolph Pope supervised the rebuilding of the Dorcester Brewery which became fully operational again in 1925.
In 1925 Rolph was in charge of the brewing side of the business and Clement was in control of its retail arm.

Modern Trading and Company Restructure

In 1945 Cecil Pope, Rolph's eldest son, was appointed Chairman of the the Company.
During the 1950s and 1960s the business flourished and Eldridge, Pope & Co. Ltd gained a reputation for its high quality beers, including 'Royal Oak Bitter', and 'Thomas Hardy Ale'.
The pub estate also expanded.
In 1978, 'Thomas Hardy Ale' was recognised as the UKs strongest commercially brewed beer.
In 1984 the Company became 'UK Wine Merchant of the Year' an accolade awarded for another part of its business.
In 1996, under the Chairmanship of Christopher, the Pope family took the calamitous decision to become a pub retailer.
The family's skill's as brewers did not transfer to running a pub company.
In addition, the Pope's decided to sell their beer brands, which proved to be another poor decision.
In 1997 the management of brewery purchased the business, but not the site. The Company was named the Thomas Hardy Brewery.
In 1998 it merged with the Burtonwood Brewery Co. (Forshaws) Ltd, and became Thomas Hardy Burtonwood.
In 2003 Thomas Hardy Burtonwood offered to buy the Dorchester Brewery site from Eldridge, Pope & Co. Ltd, but this was rejected and the site was sold to Landwith Properties.
The Dorchester Brewery was closed soon afterwards.
The pub estate, totalling over 300 public houses, was sold to Michael Cannon in 2004 which was then acquired by Marstons PLC in 2007.
Most of the Dorchester Brewery was demolished in 2020, and is now a vibrant commercial quarter named Brewery Square.