John Barras & Co. Paper Showcard

John Barras & Co. paper showcard dating from the 1890s.

John Barras of Gateshead

In 1770 John Barras, a wealthy home brewer of Whickham, established a brewery in Gateshead.
In 1884 his son, also named John Barras, acquired the Tyne Brewery in Bath Lane, Newcastle. The Tyne Brewery had been built by the Tyne Brewing Company on Bath Lane in 1870.

Formation of Newcastle Breweries Ltd

In 1890 John Barras & Co. amalgamated with four other North Eastern breweries to form Newcastle Breweries Ltd and brewing was concentrated at the Tyne Brewery.
The amalgamation of the five breweries was recognised when, in 1913, the famous Newcastle Breweries Ltd Blue Star trade mark was registered.
After numerous mergers and aquisitions in the latter half of the 21st Century, the Tyne Brewery eventually closed in 2005 when brewing was transferred to a new site in Dunstan.