A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX 



premises of the Stag Brewery have had exten- 

 sive development : a new fermenting-room has 

 been added, one of the pontoon rooms is now 

 fitted with dropping tanks, a large bottling 

 department has been established in a separate 

 building, and new cooperage works are in 

 course of construction. The firm also possesses 

 a fine laboratory, a model brewery for experi- 

 ments, and improved and extensive stabling. 



The Anchor Brewery of Messrs. Charring- 

 ton & Co. is situated on the north side of 

 Mile End Road, occupying the frontage be- 

 tween Cleveland Street and St. Peter's Road. 

 The earliest record of the firm is in 1743, 

 when the brewery belonged to Messrs. 

 Wastfield and Moss, of whom nothing fur- 

 ther is known. About the year 1766 Mr. 

 John Charrington purchased Mr. Wastfield's 

 share of the business, and the firm became 

 Charrington & Moss. John Charrington 

 was a son of the vicar of Aldenham, Herts., 

 and was the first of his family to enter upon 

 business pursuits. Mr. Moss soon afterwards 

 retired, and the brewery then remained wholly 

 in the possession of the Charrington family 

 until the year 1833. The business rapidly 

 increased, and in 1806 ranked second among 

 the ale breweries in London, the output for 

 that year being 15,556 barrels. 



There were two Nicholas Charringtons 

 connected with the firm, one of whom died 

 in 1827, and was succeeded by his sons 

 Edward and Spencer ; the other died in 1859 

 at the advanced age of eighty-three, and was 

 succeeded by his sons Charles and Frederick. 

 Mr. Head, of the firm of Stewart & Head 

 of Stratford, became a partner in the brewery 

 in 1833, and introduced the brewing of 

 porter and stout ; previous to this Messrs. 

 Charrington had been ale brewers only. 

 They now gradually dropped their large 

 private and family trade and devoted them- 

 selves entirely to supplying licensed victual- 

 lers. From this time the business was ex- 

 clusively a trade brewery, and the name of 

 Charrington became one of the most familiar 

 in London. In consequence of the rapid 

 increase of the business it was necessary in 

 the year 1871 to establish an ale brewery at 

 Burton-on-Trent to supply the demands of 

 their customers for that class of beer. On 

 the death of Mr. Frederick Charrington in 

 1873 and of Mr. Charles Charrington in 

 1877, they were succeeded by their sons, 

 Mr. John Douglas Charrington and Mr. 

 Charles E. N. Charrington. Mr. Head, who 



had during his partnership for nearly fifty 

 years taken a responsible part in the manage- 

 ment of the business, died universally re- 

 gretted. His sound judgement and great 

 experience gained for him much reputation 

 among the London brewers as a high autho- 

 rity upon all matters connected with the 

 brewing trade. Mr. Head had no son to 

 succeed him, and the firm once more con- 

 sisted of the Charrington family only until 

 1884, when Mr. George C. Croft was ad- 

 mitted into partnership. A severe loss w^ sus- 

 tained by the firm in 1888, when Mr. Euward 

 Charrington, the senior partner, who had for 

 fifty-seven years been a member of the firm, died 

 at Burys Court, Reigate. He was a man of 

 great gentleness and affability, and a warm 

 supporter of every philanthropic movement in 

 the east of London. After the death of Mr. 

 Edward Charrington Mr. Spencer Charring- 

 ton, who represented in Parliament the Mile 

 End division of the Tower Hamlets, became 

 the head of the firm. The business was 

 turned into a limited liability company in 

 1897, and Colonel F. Charrington is the pre- 

 sent chairman of the board of directors. 

 Every attention is paid by the firm to the 

 needs and comforts of their numerous staff ; 

 there are several houses for the higher officials, 

 and a long row of excellent cottages for the 

 most deserving of the workmen. The malt 

 required in the breweries is made by the firm 

 themselves at Norwich and other places in the 

 eastern counties, under the superintendence 

 of a member of the firm and the head brewer, 

 by whom the various mailings are periodically 

 visited. Among the special features of this great 

 brewery, whose operations are carried on upon 

 a vast scale, is a well-appointed experimental 

 or model brewery, which is excellently adapted 

 for the various scientific experiments con- 

 ducted in it from time to time. 



The Albion Brewery of Messrs. Mann, 

 Grossman & Paulin lies on the north side 

 of Whitechapel Road, at its junction with 

 Mile End Road. Just at this spot formerly 

 stood the Mile End turnpike gate, and ad- 

 joining the brewery is the 'Blind Beggar' 

 public house, which commemorates the legend 

 associated with the neighbouring parish of 

 Bethnal Green. 



Local breweries on a more or less extensive 

 scale exist at Brentford, Uxbridge, Great 

 Stanmore, Staines, Chiswick, Isleworth, Twick- 

 enham, and Hounslow, among other places in 

 this county. 



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