Shepherd Neame Ltd ceramic jug dating from the 1920s.<\/p>\n
The Origins of Britain’s Oldest Brewer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Shepherd Neame is Britain’s oldest brewer and while 1698 is the official founding date, there is clear evidence that its heritage pre-dates this. Samuel Shepherd Acquires the Brewery in 1732<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Samuel Shepherd married Mary in 1732 and promptly took over the running of the brewery, introducing a period of growth. Shepherd Neame & Co. Ltd Registration<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Percy Beale Neame died in 1913 and the following year the business was registered as Shepherd Neame & Co. Ltd. All of Percy’s children became shareholders of the new Company. Shepherd Neame Ltd From the 1960s Onwards<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n When Jasper died in 1961 Laurie became the Managing Director. The manufacturer’s mark states – Associated Potteries Co.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Shepherd Neame Ltd ceramic jug dating from the 1920s.
\nJohn Castlock was brewing on the same site in 1570, and in 1653 the brewery passed to Thomas Hilton.
\nRichard Marsh leased it from Hilton’s executors in 1678, and in 1698 Marsh purchased the brewery, thereby signalling the official start of the brewery’s history.
\nRichard Marsh died in 1726 and his brewing business was passed on to his second son, also named Richard, who died a year later.
\nRichard’s widow, Mary Marsh, remarried Hilles Hobday who died in 1731.
\nAt this time the firm owned two Faversham public houses, The Castle and the Three Tuns, which are still part of the brewery’s pub estate.<\/p>\n
\nSamuel Shepherd purchased 21 public houses, 5 of which remain in the estate.
\nIn 1755 Samuel Shepherd retired leaving the business to his sons, John and Julius.
\nIn 1777 John left the business leaving Julius as the sole owner. Julius introduced two of his sons, Samuel and Henry, into the partnership.
\nIn 1819 Henry took over the business.
\nHenry’s son, Henry Jr, and John Henry Mares were managing partners by 1849.
\nIn 1864 John Henry Mare’s brother-in-law, Percy Neame, joined the firm as a partner, and soon after John Mare’s death Shepherd Neame & Company was born.
\nIn 1864, a new brewhouse and stores were built, and by 1874 Shepherd Neame & Co. owned over 100 public houses.
\nHenry Jr died in 1875 leaving Percy Neame as the sole proprietor. By 1895 he had been joined by his sons, Harry, Arthur, and Alick.<\/p>\n
\nThe name was changed to Shepherd Neame Ltd in 1919.
\nAfter the Second World War Harry’s sons, Jasper and Laurie, contolled the Company.
\nHarry Neame died in 1947 and in 1956 Jasper’s eldest son, Bobby, joined the Company.
\nThe Company continued to grow and in 1956 it purchased and then closed E.Mason & Co.’s Waterside Brewery of Maidstone, with 80 public houses.
\nIn 1958 the firm’s distinctive strong beer ‘Bishop’s Finger’ was introduced.
\nLaurie’s son, Colin Neame joined the Company in 1959 becoming a pioneer in labour-saving techniques in the key and bottling plant. He also introduced the brewery’s biochemical laboratory and ran the brewery farm.<\/p>\n
\nLaurie died in 1970, and in 1971 Colin succeeded him, a position he held until 1984. Bobby became the Company’s Chairman.
\nShepherd Neame’s profitability continued to increase throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
\nIn the 1990s in commemoration of the Battle of Britain in World War Two, a new beer ‘Spitfire’, was introduced to the market.
\nIn 1991 Bobby’s son, Jonathan Neame, joined the Company. He was appointed Managing Director in 1999 and Chief Executive in 2003.
\nIn 2004 a new keg plant and distribution centre were built, followed by a new cask packing operation in 2007 and new bottling line in 2009.
\nThe Company received the Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development in 2006.
\nBobby Neame died in 2019.
\nShepherd Neame boasts an award-winning visitor centre and an estate totalling more than 300 pubs and hotels throughout London and the South East.<\/p>\n
\nThe Company is still brewing and in Faversham, Kent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":11473,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[269],"product_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5169","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-jugs","8":"first","9":"instock","10":"shipping-taxable","11":"purchasable","12":"product-type-simple"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brewerytrays.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/5169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brewerytrays.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brewerytrays.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brewerytrays.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5169"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brewerytrays.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brewerytrays.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brewerytrays.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=5169"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brewerytrays.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=5169"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brewerytrays.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=5169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}