Morgan’s Brewery Co. Ltd Round Black Backed Steel

Morgan's Brewery Co. Ltd black backed steel tray dating from the 1920s.

The Origins of Morgan's Brewery Business

The Conisford Brewery was established by John Barnard on King Street in Norwich in 1563.
John Barnard sold the business to the Allen family who then sold it to the Thompson family in 1660.
From 1720 the business was known as the Old King Street Brewery.
The brewery remained in the control of the Thompson family until it was purchased by John Brandram Morgan in 1845 with 54 public houses.
Brothers John Brandram Morgan and Henry Morgan were partners of the business from 1850 until 1868.
After 1879 the Company traded as Morgan & Co. until 1887 when it was registered as Morgan's Brewery Co. Ltd with 188 public houses.

Morgan's Expansion

Morgan's purchased Huddlestones Chatteris Brewery in 1889, Bourke & Ewles of Grimston in 1890, the Wymondham Brewery of William Cann & Co. with 100 public houses in 1894, and the Letheringsett Brewery of W H Cozens-Hardy & Sons with 29 public houses in 1896.
By the turn of the century the firm was brewing four draught beers, numerous bottled beers of its own, and was also bottling beers and stouts for Bass, Ratcliff & Gretton Ltd and Arthur Guinness, Son & Co. Ltd.
The firm also produced mineral waters and owned a separate wine & spirit business.
The Company acquired Elijah Eyres Brewery Ltd of Kings Lynn with its Lady Bridge Brewery and 133 tied houses in 1900. It continued to brew there and the Lady Bridge Brewery became its additional operation.
By 1904 its estate totalled 600 tied houses.
The Crown Brewery of E. & G.Morse in Lowestoft was added to its estate in 1936.
In 1942 the Old Brewery was severely damaged by bombing during the war.
Rebuilding of the Old Brewery commenced in 1947 and it was fully opeartional again in 1950.
As a result of the war damage most brewing was transferred to the Lady Bridge Brewery in Kings Lynn and Morgan's two main rivals, Bullard & Sons Ltd and Steward & Patteson Ltd, also helped out brewing during this short-term crisis.
The Company's final acquisition was the Trunch Brewery Ltd with its North Norfolk Brewery and 9 public houses in 1952.

Bullard & Sons Ltd and Steward & Patteson Ltd Joint Acquisition

The Company struggled financially in the late 1940s and 1950s and it became a target for a takeover.
Morgan's Brewery Co. Ltd was acquired jointly by Bullard & Sons Ltd and Steward & Patteson Ltd after it went into liquidation in 1961.
Reportedly Morgan's 450 pubs were shared amongst the two breweries by splitting a deck of cards!
The brewery was sold to Watney Mann Ltd in 1962 which was itself was acquired by Grand Metropolitan Hotels Ltd in 1972.
A new Company was formed in 1976 named the Norwich Brewery Ltd.
Brewing ceased at the Old Brewery in 1985 and most of the buildings were demolished in 1989.

The maufacturer's mark simply states a number - No 12526