Fremlins Ltd Round Tin

Fremlins Ltd tin tray dating from the late 1950s.

Fremlins Foundation

The original brewery was founded on Earl Street, Maidstone, in 1790.
The brewery was acquired by Ralph Fremlin from the executors of John Heathorn in 1861.
Ralph Fremlin rebuilt the premises and expanded the production plant. Ralph was a religious man who disapproved of public houses and therefore sold his ten drinking premises in order to focus solely on brewing. His preference was to brew and sell bottled beer to the home trade, which he believed would be consumed more in moderation.
The firm's famous 'elephant standing on a coat of arms' was first used in 1868, and was registered in 1876.
The Company was trading as Fremlin Brothers in the late 19th century, and was the first British brewery to mass-produce beer in bottles and jars.
Ralph Fremlin died in 1910, and the business was briefly run by Richard Fremlin before he too died in 1915.

Post-Registration Growth

The Company was registered as Fremlin Brothers Ltd in 1920, and the name was later changed to Fremlins Ltd in 1928.
After its registration, the Company reverted to purchasing public houses, mainly through the takeover of a number of Kent breweries.
This commenced in 1926 when Fremlins purchased Alfred Leney & Co. Ltd of Dover, with 100 public houses, and in 1929 the Company took over Isherwood, Foster & Stacey Ltd of Maidstone, with 151 public houses. Isherwood's became a subsidiary of Fremlins Ltd.
The Company leased the Halstead Brewery of Thomas Francis Adams, from Isherwood, Foster & Stacey Ltd, and acquired J.Harris & Browne Ltd of Barnet, with 6 properties, in 1939.
After WWII, Fremlins Ltd became the largest brewer in Kent when it acquired local rival George Beer & Rigden Ltd of Faversham, with over 200 public houses, in 1949.
Rigden's Faversham Brewery was closed in 1954 but reopened in 1961 to meet increasing demand for Fremlin's beers.
In 1960 Fremlins purchased the Phoenix Brewery, and 189 public houses, of Frederick Leney & Sons of Wateringbury, from Whitbread & Co. Ltd.

The Final Years

The Pale Ale Brewery, with its 714 public houses, was acquired by Whitbread & Co. Ltd in 1967, and ceased brewing in 1972.
The brewery was used as a depot until 1978, when most of the site was demolished in order to construct a new road bridge.
What remained of the Earl Street brewery was demolished in 1980, and the site was redeveloped as the Fremlins Walk shopping centre, which opened in 2005.
The Phoenix Brewery in Wateringbury closed in 1981, but reopened as a Whitbread distribution centre, and the Faversham Brewery continued to brew Whitbread Trophy until its closure in 1998.

The manufacturer's mark states - Reginald Corfield Ltd Lombard Road. London. S.W.19.