Reid & Co was a large British brewery based in London.
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History edit
The business was established in 1757 when Richard Meux and Mungo Murray acquired Jackson's Brewery on Mercer Street. Following a major fire, the Griffin Brewery at Clerkenwell was built in 1763.[1] Andrew Reid, a wealthy merchant and distiller, became a partner in 1793, and the firm began to trade as Meux Reid & Co.[1] Production amounted to over 100,000 barrels for the first time in 1795.[2] The firm was the largest of the London porter breweries in 1807/8.[3] It began to trade as Reid's Brewery from 1816.[4]
Reid's was the fourth largest brewer in London in 1853, as measured by the amount of malt used.[5] The Griffin Brewery was reckoned to be the largest brewery under a single roof in London in 1862.[5] While Richmond and Turton state that the Reid family's involvement with the firm ended with the death of William Reid in 1867, his son Cecil Frederick Reid was a large shareholder and director.[6][7]
In 1888 the firm became a limited liability company with a registered capital of £2 million.[8] Reid merged with rival London brewers Watney and Combe in 1898.[9] The Griffin Brewery in Clerkenwell was closed.[9]
The Reid brand name continued to be applied to stout until the 1950s.[10]
References edit
- ^ a b Lesley Richmond; Alison Turton (1990). The Brewing Industry: A Guide to Historical Records. Manchester University Press. p. 274. ISBN 978-0-7190-3032-1.
- ^ Wilson, R. G. "Meux family (per. 1757–1910)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/97889. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ "Shut up about Barclay Perkins: Let's Brew Wednesday - 1837 Reid P". 19 July 2017.
- ^ Janes, Hurford (1963). The Red Barrel, A History of Watney Mann. John Murray.
- ^ a b The Engineer, 18 April 1862, p233
- ^ International Brewers' Journal. W. Reed. 1898. p. 808.
- ^ Welch, Reginald Courtenay (1894). The Harrow School Register, 1801-1893. Longmans, Green. p. 225.
- ^ "Reid's Brewery Company, Limited." Financial Times [London, England] 26 July 1888: 2. Financial Times. Web. 19 July 2017.
- ^ a b "Goodbye to the last of London's million-barrel breweries". 3 December 2015.
- ^ "Shut up about Barclay Perkins: Watney, Combe Reid (part one)". 8 May 2015.