Whitworth, Son & Nephew Ltd Rectangular Alloy

Whitworth, Son & Nephew Ltd alloy tray dating from the 1950s.

The Wath Brewery

James Utley established the Wath Brewery in 1865, and by 1867 he was trading as James Utley & Co. 'brewers of ales and porter'.
When James Utley retired in 1880 maltster, Spedding Whitworth, acquired the business.
Once established at the Wath Brewery, Spedding Whitworth's progress was spectacular.
By 1891, when the Company was registered as Whitworth, Son & Nephew Ltd, the estate totalled 46 tied houses and off-licences.
Spedding's son, Henry Whitworth became its Chairman. By the turn of the century, he was joined by James Henry Kelley and his brother, Frederick Arthur Kelley, who was the owner of Whitmarsh, Watson's Brewery of Sheffield.
In 1896 the Company took over Thomas Windle in Doncaster which owned the Old Exchange Brewery and the Crown Brewery with 8 public houses. Both breweries operated for a number of years. The Old Exchange Brewery was closed in 1915 and the Crown Brewery brewed until 1925, when it was sold to Bass, Ratcliff & Gretton Ltd.

20th Century Trading & Expansion

In 1900 the Company introduced its 'Sheaf of Barley' trade mark.
The brewery's sales of mild, bitter, porter and stout beers were on the increase.
The steady purchase of tied houses and off-licences continued with a further 26 added to its estate by 1903.
In 1903 Whitworth's acquired the Burton Weir Brewery of Thomas Marrion & Co. Ltd in Sheffield, and its 66 houses were divided equally with Whitmarsh, Watson & Co. Ltd.
In 1906 the Company purchased the nearby Holywell Brewery of Nicholson Brothers Ltd with 29 public houses and off-licences. The Holywell Brewery was sold in 1912.
Whitworth, Son & Nephew Ltd continued to purchase public houses and off-licences and it added another 14 between 1907 and 1911.
Whitworth's took over Dickinson's Old Brewery in Doncaster in 1912, and the Farmer's Brewery Co. Ltd in Everton, Nottinghamshire, in 1926.
Due to a serious fire in 1954 considerable rebuilding of the brewery was required.

John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Co. Ltd Takeover

The Wath Brewery, with 140 hotels, public houses and off-licences, was acquired by John Smith's Tadcaster Brewery Co. Ltd in 1958 and brewing ceased.
The Company was wound up in 1965.
Only a bottling shed remains.

The tray featured is part of the collection of Dug Wydell. Thank you for providing the photograph.