Groves & Whitnall Ltd Square Tin

Groves & Whitnall Ltd tin tray dating from 1956.

The Early Years

The Bathe & Newbold Regent Road Brewery, in Salford, was founded in 1835, and was acquired by William Peer Grimble Groves, his son, James Grimble Groves, and James' friend, Arthur Whitnall, in 1868.
Arthur Whitnall reasoned that the brewery would prosper if it brewed the finest ales in Manchester. He personally tasted every beer in Manchester, and concluded that Beaumont & Heathcote, based in Chorlton on Medlock, produced the best ales. As a result, Groves & Whitnall employed its Head Brewer, Charles Henry Hill, in 1875.
His decision paid off when, in a short timescale, the Company built a great reputation for the quality of its beers.
By the turn of the 20th century, the Company had amassed 591 public houses, and 748 dwelling houses.
To add to this, in 1885, Groves & Whitnall purchased a mineral water factory and bottling plant. The 'Globe' mineral water business of Charles Henry Leigh started as a subsidiary, which became wholly owned in 1899. Its success resulted in a shift of focus to bottled beers.
The Company was registered in 1899, as Groves & Whitnall Ltd.
In that year it acquired James Cronshaw's Alexandra Brewery of Hulme, with 145 public houses, from which it adopted the 'Arrow in Hand' trade mark.
Brewing continued there until 1915, when wartime economies forced its closure.
Other trade marks used by Groves & Whitnall included the more common 'Globe', and 'Red Rose' emblems.
In 1900, the Company acquired a small local brewery, William Dockray of Hulme, with 12 public houses.
Growth slowed due to World War I, when Groves & Whitnall's fleet of delivery vehicles were commandeered to support the war effort.

World War II & Post-War Trading

Worst was to happen in World War II, when the Regent Road Brewery was directly hit by a German bomb, from which the brewery offices were destroyed. Next evening the Globe mineral works was destroyed by a landmine.
The business suffered badly as a result, from which it took years to recover.
After the war, the reputation of its beers, which had been the bedrock of its expansion, began to suffer. However, by the end of the 1950s, the acquisition of a number of small breweries, and their public houses, made Groves & Whitnall Ltd, an attractive proposition for a takeover.
One of its acquisitions was W. & R.Wilkins Longton Brewery, with 19 public houses, in 1952. Brewing ceased, but it continued malting and bottling there until 1972.
The Regent Road Brewery was acquired by Greenall Whitley & Co Ltd in 1961, brewing ceased in 1972, and the site was demolished in 1978.

The manufacturer's mark states - Reginald Corfield Ltd Lombard Road, London. S.W.19. 568