Holt Brewery Co. Ltd Round Alloy

Holt Brewery Co. Ltd alloy tray dating from the 1950s.

The Fulford Family

Malsters John Fulford, and his son Joseph Fulford, purchased their first brewery, the Minerva, on Mott Street in Birmingham, in 1841.
John's brother, Richard Fulford, and his son Henry Charles Fulford, were also malsters, on Holt Street in Birmingham, in 1848. Here they founded the Fulford Brewery, the family's second brewery, in 1872.
Henry's son, also called Henry Charles, renamed it the Holt Brewery after his father's death in 1887. The Company was registered as the Holt Brewery Co. Ltd, that year.
Henry Charles was joined by his brother-in-law. Walter Hodgkinson, and together they ran the business.
The Company went into voluntary liquidation in 1896, and was reconstructed as a business with the same name.

Holt Brewery Co. Ltd Acquisitions

After the untimely death of Henry Charles, Walter Hodgkinson continued to run the brewery until its eventual takeover.
The Company purchased Grigg & Brettell Ltd, with 8 public houses, in 1912, Joseph Forrest & Son Ltd in 1913, and George & John Kendrick, with its Engine Brewery and 16 premises, in 1918. All these firms were based in the Birmingham area.
Acquistions continued during the 1920s when it bought Charles Heeley Ltd, and Frank Myatt Ltd, with 192 public houses, in 1927. Both these businesses were based in Wolverhampton.
The Company's final purchase was that of Isaac Bradley of Dudley, in 1930.
The brewery, 250 tied houses, and its famous squirrel trade mark, was acquired by Ansells Brewery Ltd in 1934.
Walter Hodgkinson died in 1935.
The brewery was not closed by Ansells Brewery Ltd until 1974.
Between 1997 and 1999, the original office premises became a pub with a microbrewery, the Faculty & Firkin.
The Costa Green public house continues to trade on the same site.

The tray featured is one of two produced with exactly the same design. This was produced in the 1950s and made of alloy, the other was produced in the 1960s and made of tin.