Evan Evans Bevan Ltd Round Tin

Evan Evans Bevan Ltd tin tray dating from the 1960s.

The Vale of Neath Brewery

The business was founded at Cadoxton, Neath, in 1830, when the Directors of the Maesteg Iron Company commisioned the building of the Vale of Neath Brewery. As the demand for coal increased, so too did the demand for beer to quench the thirst of South Wales miners.
By the early 1840s, the Vale of Neath Brewery was a prosperous expanding business.
However this all turned around when economic difficulties, and a fire at the brewery, in 1843, forced the owners to sell the business.
In 1844, Evan Evans, a local brewer at the Grant Arms, in the middle of Neath, and sole agent for the sale of Guinness in South Wales, purchased the Vale of Neath Brewery, three maltings, and a few public houses, at a bargain price.
Evan Evans continued to purchase local pubs slowly increasing his pub estate over the next decade.
In 1848 his daughter Mary married David Bevan.

Evan Evans Bevan

In addition to Evan Evans brewing business, he joined David Bevan in partnership, and together they created a mining business which, by the end of the 19th century, was vast.
In 1850 Evan Evans purchased the Swansea Vale Brewery at Pontardawe, which had been founded by David Bevan.
Evan Evans died in 1871.
David Martyn Evans Bevan, later Sir David, inherited his father's brewing business when Evan Evans Bevan, son of Evan Evans, died in 1929.
The Company was registered as Evan Evans Bevan Ltd in 1935.
The Swansea Vale Brewery was closed in 1937.
The dynamism of Sir David Evans Bevan drove the business forward during the 1940s and 1950s, acquiring more pubs and small breweries, becoming the largest brewery in South Wales.
Sir David's style of leadership was appreciated both within his brewing and mining businesses.
The Company acquired, and closed, David Williams (Builth) Ltd, with 33 public houses, in 1952.

The Whitbread Acquisition & Closure

The Vale of Neath Brewery, with 121 public houses, was acquired by Whitbread & Co. Ltd in 1967.
In 1968 a second catastrophic fire caused the eventual closure of the brewery, when all bottling activities were transferred to Cardiff in 1969.
All production ceased in 1972 and the Vale of Neath Brewery was closed.
David Evans Bevan died in 1973.

The manufacturer's mark states - The Metal Box Co.Ltd. (Liverpool Branch)