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Charrington Brewery was founded in
Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...
, London, in the early 18th century by Robert Westfield. In 1766, John Charrington joined the company, which then traded as Westfield, Moss & Charrington from the Anchor Brewery in
Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...
. It merged with United Breweries of London in 1964, and with
Bass Brewery The Bass Brewery () was founded in 1777 by William Bass in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The main brand was Bass Pale Ale, once the highest-selling beer in the UK. By 1877, Bass had become the largest brewery in the world, with ...
in 1967 to become the largest UK brewing company, Bass Charrington. The brewing operations of the company were bought by
Interbrew Interbrew is subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV is based in Breda, Netherlands. It has one subsidiary, Ambev S.A. of São Paulo, Brazil. Brands Interbrew brands have historically included Budweiser, Stella Artois, Boddingtons, Beck's, S ...
(now
Anheuser-Busch InBev Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, commonly known as AB InBev, is an American-Belgian multinational drink and brewing company based in Leuven, Belgium. AB InBev has a global functional management office in New York City, and regional headquarters ...
) in 2000, while the retail side (hotel and pub holdings) were renamed
Six Continents Six Continents was a large British-based hotel and hospitality business which was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History The company was formed in June 2000 when the brewing business of Ba ...
. In 2003, Six Continents split into a pubs business, now known as
Mitchells & Butlers Mitchells & Butlers plc (also referred to as "M&B") runs circa 1,784 managed pubs, bars and restaurants throughout the United Kingdom. The company's headquarters are in Birmingham, England. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange an ...
, and a hotels and soft drinks business, now known as
InterContinental Hotels Group InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), marketed as IHG Hotels & Resorts, is a British multinational hospitality company headquartered in Denham, Buckinghamshire, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the F ...
.


History

The company was formed in
Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...
in the early 18th century by Robert Westfield. He is known to have been a member of the Brewers' Company from 1738. In 1757, Joseph Moss became a partner, and the brewery moved to new premises at Anchor Brewery in
Mile End Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...
. In 1766, John Charrington, who had brewed with Hale brewers in
Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...
, became third partner in the company, which then traded as Westfield, Moss & Charrington. Westfield retired in 1769, and his share in the partnership was purchased by Charrington. After Moss retired in 1783, Charrington and his brother, Henry, were in full control of the business. Henry (Harry) lived at Malplaquet House, 137-139 Mile End Road, from 1794-1833. By 1807/8, they were the second largest brewers in London, producing 20,252 barrels of beer per year. Following Charrington's death in 1815, the business was continued by his brother and his son, Nicholas, who had joined the partnership in 1806. The firm acquired Steward & Head in
Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...
, in 1833 and subsequently traded as Charrington & Head Co. The company took over Lewis Meakin's Abbey Brewery in
Burton upon Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011, it had a ...
in 1872 to become one of the breweries in Burton. Nicholas's two sons, Edward and Spencer, succeeded their father in 1859, and following the death of Head in 1880, the firm was known as Charrington & Co. The London and Burton breweries were operated as separate concerns until 1897, when Charrington & Co Ltd was registered in July to acquire the business of both breweries. The People’s Refreshment House Association's large chain of freehold and leasehold properties were acquired by Charrington & Co. Ltd. from the beginning of 1962. In 1962, Charrington United Breweries Limited was registered to undertake the merger of Charrington & Co Ltd and United Breweries Ltd by an exchange of shares. In 1967, Charrington merged with Bass and
Mitchell & Butlers Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territory ...
and formed Bass Charrington Limited. In 1997, Bass Charrington sold off its public houses. The buyer then created
Punch Taverns Punch Pubs & Co is a pub and bar operator in the United Kingdom, with around 1,300 leased pubs. It is headquartered in the traditional brewing centre of Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange as a constitu ...
. In 2000, the company sold off its brands to
Interbrew Interbrew is subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV is based in Breda, Netherlands. It has one subsidiary, Ambev S.A. of São Paulo, Brazil. Brands Interbrew brands have historically included Budweiser, Stella Artois, Boddingtons, Beck's, S ...
and remaining properties to
Six Continents Six Continents was a large British-based hotel and hospitality business which was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History The company was formed in June 2000 when the brewing business of Ba ...
.


Breweries

The Anchor Brewery on Mile End Road ceased production in January 1975, but remained the company's head office. By now, most of the brewery buildings have been demolished. Bottling and warehousing facilities were also housed in a former distillery at
Three Mills The Three Mills are former working mills and an island of the same name on the River Lea. It is one of London’s oldest extant industrial centres. The mills lie in the London Borough of Newham, but despite lying on the Newham side of the Lea, ac ...
, in
Bromley-by-Bow Bromley, commonly known as Bromley-by- Bow, is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, located on the western banks of the River Lea, in the Lower Lea Valley in East London. The area is distinct from Bow, which li ...
. Today, the site at Three Mills is used as offices serving a film studio complex, and the main Anchor Brewery site has been redeveloped as housing, offices and a shopping centre.''Charrington United Breweries Ltd'' (Brewery History Society)
accessed 18 Feb 2008
The company took over the brewing business of: * Gray and Dacre Brewery, West Ham, Essex, in 1846. * Joseph Friends Bell, Peterborough Lane, Parson's Green, Fulham, London, in 1890. * Walter & John Fline East, Oil Mill Lane, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey in 1891. * Walker & Son Ltd, Wellington Brewery, Wellington Street, Gravesend, Kent in 1903. * Campbell, Johnstone & Co. Ltd, Phoenix Brewery, Latimer Road, Notting Hill, London in 1909. * Brook's Peckham Brewery, Peckham Hill Street, Peckham, London in 1916. * Savill Brothers Ltd, Stratford Brewery, Maryland Road, Stratford, London in 1925. The Brewing of Pale Ale was transferred from Abbey Brewery, Burton-on-Trent, to the Anchor Brewery, London in 1925 and the former was closed in 1926 and sold with 86
tied house In the United Kingdom, a tied house is a public house required to buy at least some of its beer from a particular brewery or pub company. That is in contrast to a free house, which is able to choose the beers it stocks freely. A report for th ...
s. * Lewis Meakin Brewery, Abbey Brewery, Burton-upon-Trent, closed 1926. * Edward Tilney & Co, Alma Brewery, Spelman Street, Whitechapel, London in 1927. * Seabrooke & Sons Ltd, Thurrock Brewery, Bridge Road, Grays, Essex in 1929. * Hoare & Co. Ltd, Red Lion Brewery, Lower East Smithfield, London in 1933, closed in 1934. * Thompson & Son Ltd, Walmer Brewery, Walmer, Kent in 1950. * Properties from Charles Hammerton & Co Ltd, Stockwell, Stockwell Green, London in 1951. * Batey & Co, Mineral Water manufacturers in 1952. * Kemp Town Brewery, Brighton, East Sussex in 1954, closed 1963. * Brutton, Mitchell & Toms Ltd, Princes Street, Yeovil, Somerset in 1960, closed in 1965. * People's Refreshment House Association Ltd and Yeo, Retcliffe & Dawe, wine merchants, Barnstaple, Devon in 1961. * Offiler's Brewery Ltd, Vine Brewery, Ambrose Street, Derby, in 1965. * Dunmow Brewery Ltd, Dunmow Brewery, North Street, Great Dunmow, Essex in 1965. * Massey's Burnley Brewery Ltd, Bridge End Brewery, Westgate,
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
, Lancashire in 1966.


Products

* Charrington's Anchor Stout * Charrington's Brown Ale * Charrington's Pale Ale * Charrington's Pilsner Lager * Punch Stout * Royal Toby Ale * Toby Ale * Toby Export Lager Beer * Toby Lager * Toby Stout


Adams House

The Anchor Brewery ceased production in January 1975, and most of the buildings were demolished. The brewery gave its name to the Anchor Retail Park that was built after the bulk of the brewery was demolished. The remaining structure of the Anchor Brewery, on the corner of Mile End Road and Cephas Avenue, is a block of offices named Adams House, and a residential part named Charrington House. The building is
Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. Anchor House was purchased by the senior partners of Adams Solicitors, and renamed Adams House. Throughout 2008 and 2009 they undertook comprehensive renovation works to restore the building. As well as being Grade II listed, Adams House is protected under the Stepney Green Conservation Area. A report by
Tower Hamlets Council Tower Hamlets London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in Greater London, England. The council is unusual in that its executive function is controlled by a directly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets, curr ...
in October 2007 described Adams House as:
"...an unusual corner building which makes a positive contribution to the area, both because of its architectural quality and its historic importance as a surviving part of the large brewery which dominated the site for a long period of time."Stepney Green Conservation Area
- London Borough of Tower Hamlets


See also

*
Brewers of Burton Burton upon Trent has a long history of brewing, at one time exporting beer throughout the world and accounting for a quarter of UK beer production; emulation of Burton water in brewing is called Burtonisation. Much of the town was given over to ...


References

{{Reflist 1738 establishments in England 1967 disestablishments in England Breweries in London Food and drink companies disestablished in 1967 British companies established in 1738 Defunct breweries of the United Kingdom Companies based in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets History of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Bethnal Green Stepney Food and drink companies established in 1738