Gray & Sons (Brewers) Ltd Rectangular Tin

Gray & Sons (Brewers) Ltd tin tray dating from around 1970.

Gray's Foundation

The business was founded by Charles Stanton Gray at the Springfield Road brewery, Chelmsford, in 1828. His brewery was located alongside the Black Boy Inn and Brewery.
The firm traded as Gray & Sons later in the 1800s, and was described as 'maltsters, brewers & corn merchants'. It quickly gained a reputation for the quality of its ales.
Charles Gray also founded the Halstead Brewery in 1859, which he sold to Thomas Francis Adams in 1876.
Walter Hall Gray took over running of the business from his father Charles, when he died in 1879.
The firm traded as Walter Gray & Sons until 1957.
To meet growing demand for its beers, the Company purchased the Maldon Brewery on Gate Street, Maldon, in 1896. It continued to brew in Maldon until 1952.
The site was sold at auction in 1954.

Post-Registration Trading

The sale of the Maldon Brewery marked a significant shift in the firm's focus, as Gray & Sons began to focus more on managing and supporting its network of public houses.
The Company was registered as Gray & Sons (Brewers) Ltd in 1957, although its name was changed to Gray & Sons (Chelmsford) Ltd in 1973.
The brewery, with 49 public houses, was closed in 1974. The Springfield Road brewery site was redeveloped as 'Gray's Yard', where a number restaurants now operate.
The sale of the brewery in Chelmsford led to a move to offices and a distribution centre in Galleywood, Chelmsford.
Gray & Sons (Chelmsford) Ltd describes itself as 'owners of public houses and beer wholesalers'.
The portfolio of pubs has changed over the years but the Company continues to deliver ales and lagers, from other breweries, to its tenanted estate, and is now run by the sixth generation of the Gray family.