Reffells Bexley Brewery Ltd Round Alloy

Reffells Bexley Brewery Ltd alloy tray dating from the early 1950s.

The Reffell Family

Henry Reffell left the Somers Arms in Redhill in 1876 and opened a new brewery on a green field site on Bourne Road in Bexley, then in Kent.
Henry Reffell died in1886 and his brewing businesss was passed to his three sons.
William Robert Reffell ran the brewing arm, Arthur Henry Reffell managed the offices and wine & spirit business, and John Reffell also worked in the brewery until his retirement in 1891.
The firm traded as the Reffell Brothers Brewery and by 1888 it offered a range of ten beers.
The firm experienced initial sales growth and a positive reputation for the quality of its ales, which was reflected in the award of medals from Brewers' Exhibitions in London and Ghent in the 1890s.

Reffell's Bexley Brewery Ltd & the Waistell Family

The need for expansion resulted in the registration of Reffells Bexley Brewery Ltd in 1898 to acquire Reffells Brothers and the London properties of Showell's Brewery Co. Ltd.
The newly formed Company struggled financially and between 1903 and 1904 it went into receivership.
In 1904 Percy Hugh Waistell was appointed Head Brewer and soon after the Reffell family connections were lost.
Under Percy Waistell's leadership the Company recovered and prospered and a futher ten London Brewers' Exhibition medals were awarded betweem 1904 and 1938.
In the 1930s the Company employed 70 men.
In 1931 the firm acquired the Hampstead Brewery Co' Ltd.
By the time Percy died in 1944 his son, John Kipling Waistell, had become the Managing Director.
After the Second World War further financial pressures saw the business become a target for a takeover from larger brewers.
This eventually happened in 1955 when the Company, with 19 public houses, was acquired by Courage & Co. Ltd.
Brewing ceased in 1956.
The buildings have remained as industrial units.