Gibbs, Mew & Co. Ltd Deep Round Tin

Gibbs, Mew & Co. Ltd tin tray dating from the 1970s.

Early History

The business was founded in 1750 at the Swan in Hazelmere, Surrey. The firm traded as Bridger, Gibbs & Son.
George Bridger Gibbs became a partner at the brewery of W.Fawcett & Son, located on Endless Street, in Salisbury, in 1838.
Bridger Gibbs moved the business to the Anchor Brewery on Gigant Street, also in Salisbury, in 1858.
The Company was registered as Gibbs Mew & Co. Ltd in 1896, to acquire Bridger Gibbs & Son's Anchor Brewery, and Herbert Mew's Malt & Hop Brewery, based on Milford Street in Salisbury.

20th Century Trading

The firm brewed Sarum, short for Salisbury, ales in draught and bottled form.
In 1946 Gibbs Mew purchased William Henry Rossiter's Royal Oak Brewery in Bath.
Gibbs Mew changed its direction in the 1960s, preferring to brew unremarkable keg beers, rather than real ales.
In 1960 it acquired the Clough Springs Brewery, based in Barrowford, owned by Lancashire Clubs Federation Brewery Ltd, to produce keg beers for Northern clubs. A separate Company, Gibbs Keg Breweries Ltd, was created to run this part of the business.
Brewing ceased after two years for economic reasons.
In 1974 the Company reintroduced real ales to its portfolio including 'Bishop's Tipple', a strong barley wine.
In 1988 Gibbs Mew purchased 105 tenanted pubic houses from Grand Metropolitan plc, followed by another 197 pubs from the pub company Centric Inns, in 1994.
The estate of Gibbs, Mew & Co. Ltd increased to a total of nearly 300 pubs at that time.

Gibbs Mew & Co. Ltd Becomes a Pub Company

In 1997 Gibbs Mew plc became a pub company itself, and the Anchor Brewery was closed.
Gibbs Mew beers, including 'Bishop's Tipple', were initially contract brewed by Usher's Wiltshire Brewery Ltd.
in 2011 the Company, with its 311 public houses, was sold to Enterprise Inns Ltd.
Most of the Anchor Brewery has been redeveloped.
The 'Bishop's Tipple' brand name is now owned by Wadworth & Co. Ltd, which is brewed at a much lower strength than the orginal version.