W.M.Darley Ltd Square Tin

W.M.Darley Ltd tin tray dating from 1956.

William Marsdin Darley & the Darley Family

The business was founded by William Marsdin Darley on King Street in Thorne in 1850.
By 1863 William Darley was brewing three strengths of mild ale, a bitter beer, porter, and a small amount of strong old ale.
The firm grew steadily at first but in the 1870s sales increased dramatically.
Continued growth enabled William to purchase a number of public houses in the 1880s.
In 1885 the Armoured Horse's Head inside the letter 'D' was trade mark registered.
When William died in 1892, his son C.W.Darley, who had joined the business in the 1870s, became managing director of the Company.
One of the problems C.W.Darley faced was the continued supply of water for brewing. He solved this by sinking a new well which was considerably deeper and larger than the previous 200 year old well.
In 1902 he built a new reconstructed brewhouse complete with a tower and chimney, and he also invested in a maltings business at Barnby Dun.

W.M.Darley Ltd Registration

The Company was registered as W.M.Darley Ltd in 1918.
C.W.Darley died in 1926 and his son, Charles Francis Darley, was appointed chairman and his brother, Thomas Bladworth Darley, was appointed a director.
In order to keep the the business financially stable, it was reconstruced in 1927.
Despite the unexpected death of Charles in 1933, the Company remained stable.
Thomas Bladworth Darley was the last Chairman, and after 53 years, the longest serving Chairman in the brewing industry.
In his early years he was responsible for the Company's success in the sales of its bottled beers. He built a bottling store and modernised the brewing plant. He also introduced the bottling of Guinness on the King Street site.

Vaux Breweries Ltd Takeover & Closure

W.M.Darley Ltd, with its brewery and 88 public houses, was acquired by Vaux Breweries Ltd in 1978.
In 1986 Vaux transferred brewing of all Darley's beers to S H.Ward & Co.'s Sheaf Brewery in Sheffield, which it had purchased in 1972.
The King Street brewery was closed and only part of the original buildings still remain within a supermarket complex.

The manufacturer's mark states - Reginald Corfield Ltd Lombard Road.London.S.W.19.