Drive round Birkenhead and look out for the pubs and you will see clues to the old Birkenhead Brewery Co. Limited. They are worth looking out for.
The old head offices on Oxton road are now a motorcycle shop but the terracotta tiles moulded to set out the name of the company still stand proud on the face of the building.
| MENUThe Birkenhead Brewery |
In the early part of the 1800s Birkenhead had two very famous brewing families both producing quality
goods. The first family was the Aspinall’s who owned the Anchor Brewery in Livingstone Street. The
second was the Cook family who owned the Argyle Brewery situated in Oxton Road.
On the 29th August 1865 these two family run businesses amalgamated and formed a limited company
under the companies Act of 1862 with the new name of “The Birkenhead Amalgamated Brewery Co
Ltd”. This was later changed to “The Birkenhead Brewery Co Ltd”. It is probably the oldest established
joint stock brewery company in existence. In 1948 the company acquired Mackie and Gladstone
(Birkenhead and Liverpool) Ltd now called Mackie (B & L ) Ltd wine and spirit merchants and in 1951
the mineral water manufacturing business of Moorhouse Bros Ltd was added to the group of
companies.
In 1962 the Brewery merged with Threlfall’s Chester Ltd and was later taken over by Whitbread. The
brewery also owned the Victoria Wine Co, Moorhouses (later to become R Whites) and Royal Assent.
Sadly the Birkenhead Brewery Co Ltd was closed in the latter half of the 1960’s.
Interestingly there is a Birkenhead Brewery in South Africa named after the memory of the famous boat
company is large scale and has many developments, the vision was to make this the first Beer, Wine &
Water producing estate in the Southern Hemisphere. Nestled at the foot of the Kleinrivier mountains
near Stanford, the surrounding scenery is enough to take your breath away. Fine food, water and beer
are made to serve to perfection. 6 beers are available for tasting including – Black Snake, Honey
Blonde, Old English Bitter, Premium Lager, Lite Lager and Red Reloaded Lager.
Sheep's Head Food Company 