Taylor, Walker & Co. Ltd Square Tin

Taylor, Walker & Co. Ltd tin tray dating from the late 1950s.

Origins of the Business

The business was founded as Hare & Salmon on Fore Street in Stepney in 1730.
Edward Vickeris Taylor acquired Hare's shareholding and formed a partnership with Truman Harford in 1796.
The Company began trading as Taylor, Walker & Co. in 1816 when John Taylor, Isaac and John Walker, and Samuel Jones became partners.
The brewery moved to Limehouse in 1823 and a new Barley Mow Brewery was rebuilt on the Limehouse site in 1889.
In 1896 Taylor, Walker & Co. purchased the Curtis Gin Distillery in Mile End.
In 1900 the Company purchased John Furze & Co. of Whitechapel, which was the beginning of a number of acquisitions during its history.

Registration and Expansion

The business was registered as Taylor, Walker & Co. Ltd in 1907.
In 1912 it purchased the Highbury Brewery Ltd with 40 public houses.
Taylor, Walker & Co. Ltd became a public company in 1927.
Between the wars, Taylor Walker acquired five businesses; Smith, Garrett & Co. Ltd of Bow in 1927, 84 off-licences of Victoria Wine in 1929, Glenny's Brewery Ltd of Barking with 15 public houses in 1930, the Cannon Brewery Co. Ltd of Clerkenwell with 600 public houses in 1930, and the Chelmsford Brewery (Wells & Perry) Ltd with 72 public houses in 1934.
After the Second World War, the Company acquired three breweries; the Westerham Brewery of Bushell, Watkins & Smith Ltd with 100 public houses in 1948, Chesham & Brackley Breweries Ltd in 1956, and Ward & Son Ltd of Foxearth with 31 public houses in 1957.
The Company also purchased David Stevenson's mineral water business in Paisley in 1956.
By 1959 Taylor Walker & Co. Ltd owned 1,360 public houses and off-licences, and operated four breweries at Limehouse, Westerham, Brackley and Foxearth.

Ind Coope Ltd Takeover

The size of the business made it a perfect target for a takeover. It was acquired by Ind Coope Ltd in 1959.
The Brackley brewery of Chesham & Brackley Breweries Ltd was closed around the time of the Ind Coope Ltd takeover, and the Barley Mow Brewery in Limehouse was closed in 1960.
The Limehouse Brewery site was demolished in the mid-1960s.
Ward & Sons Ltd Foxearth brewery was repurchased by the Ward family from Ind Coope Ltd in 1960.
Brewing continued at Westerham until 1965 although the premises were used as a depot until 1989.
In 2010 UK pub chain Punch Taverns announced that it would resurrect the Taylor Walker name for its historic and noted public houses in London and selected properties in the UK.
Punch Taverns demerged its managed pubs arm becoming the Spirit Pub Company in 2011. The name Taylor Walker was used for 120 public houses.
In 2015 the Greene King Group took over the Spirit Pub Company and the Taylor Walker brand name was withdrawn.

The manufacturer's mark states - Hancock Corfield & Waller Ltd, Mitcham, London.