Hull Brewery Co. Ltd Black Backed Round Steel

Hull Brewery Co. Ltd black backed steel tray dating from the 1930s.

The Early Years

In the late 1700s Thomas Ward and John Firbank built a brewery on the corner of Posterngate and Dagger Lane in Hull. Ward's grandaughters, Ann and Mary, inherited the brewery.
Mary married shipbuilder Robert Gleadow in 1796, and their son, Robert Ward Gleadow, continued to run the family business. In 1846 Gleadow was joined by another brewer, William Thomas Dibb, and their partnership traded as Gleadow, Dibb & Co.
Robert Ward Gleadow died in 1857 and was succeeded by his son, Henry Cooper Gleadow.
In 1866 Gleadow, Dibb & Co. started work on a new purpose-built brewery in Silvester Street. In 1868 the business moved and started operating at its newly named Anchor Brewery.
In 1885 the Company was registered as Gleadow, Dibb & Co. Ltd.
William Thomad Dibb died in 1886 and Frederic Gleadow replaced him.

Hull Brewery Co. Ltd - Formation & Expansion

In 1887 Gleadow, Dibb & Co. Ltd was wound up, and a new Company, the Hull Brewery Co. Ltd, was formed.
The Company embarked on a period of expansion acquiring other brewers and bottlers, purchasing licensed houses, and enlarging the Silvester Street site.
Before the Great War the firm acquired four local breweries, including Henry & William Thurlow of Cottingham in 1892, John Tate Kingston Brewery, with 9 public houses, in 1896, Rawcliffe Old Brewery of Rawcliffe, with 2 public houses, in 1896,  and H. & J.G.Smithson Ltd Tower Brewery of Hull, with 32 public houses, in 1901.
Trade dropped off during the First World War, but the business continued to expand after the war.
The Company purchased a local competitor, William Glossop & Bulay Ltd,  with its Globe Brewery and 14 public houses, in 1920, and R.Stephenson & Son's Golden Ball Brewery of Beverley, with 17 public houses, in the same year. In 1925 it acquired Sutton, Bean & Co. of Brigg with 17 public houses.
By the start of the Second World War the estate had accumulated to about 200 public houses.
In 1949 the Company began producing 'Anchor Export', a strong beer, designed to keep and travel well. Anchor Export was sold in bottles and cans.
The firm's last acquisition was Hartley's Brewery Co. Ltd of West Cowick, with 27 public houses, in 1957.

The Final Years

The Company, with its 212 tied houses, was acquired by Northern Dairies Ltd in 1971, and the name was changed to North Country Breweries Ltd in 1974.
North Country Breweries Ltd was purchased by Mansfield Brewery Co. Ltd in 1985, and brewing ceased at the Anchor Brewery that same year.
The old maltings were converted into luxury homes.