Mitchells & Butlers Brewery was formed when Henry Mitchell's old Crown Brewery[1] (founded in Smethwick in 1866) merged with William Butler's Brewery (also founded in Smethwick in 1866) in 1898.[2] Henry Mitchell had moved to the Cape Hill site in 1879[1] and this became the company's main brewing site. It had its own railway network,[3] connected to the national railway system from 1907 to 1962, via the Harborne line.[3]
 Mitchells & Butlers brand over the door of the 1932 Blue Gates pub, Smethwick | |
 The Cape Hill brewery, on a 1925 postcard | |
| Industry | Brewing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1898 |
| Defunct | 1961 |
| Fate | Merged with Bass |
| Headquarters | , |
Another brewery, opened by a completely different William Butler, in 1874, at Springfield in Wolverhampton, also became part of M&B in 1960. Brewing at this site ceased in 1990 and the site closed in 1991. It was badly damaged by fire in 2004. The site is now occupied by a campus of the University of Wolverhampton, with some original buildings, including the ornate entrance arch, retained.[4]
Other acquisitions included Holder's Brewers, who owned Birmingham's Midland Brewery, in 1919,[5] and the Highgate & Walsall Brewery in 1939.[6]
The company merged with Bass in 1961.[2] With the brand under ownership of Coors Brewers, the Cape Hill brewery closed in 2002 with production switched to Burton upon Trent.[7] The brewery was demolished in 2005,[3] and the site is now a housing estate, although the Mitchell & Butler war memorial, built in 1920, has been retained and restored.[8]
Their most famous beer was Brew XI (using Roman numerals, and so pronounced Brew Eleven), advertised with the slogan "for the men of the Midlands".[9] It is now brewed under licence for Coors by Brains of Cardiff.[9]
A descendant company, which manages pubs, bars and restaurants throughout the United Kingdom, is still known as Mitchells & Butlers, and is based in Birmingham.[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- Davies, K. (2002). Mitchells & Butlers: A History of Cape Hill Brewery 1878-2002. Smethwick: Smethwick Heritage Centre Trust. ISBN 978-0-9546296-1-8.
- Chinn, Carl; Maxam, Andrew (2002). Time Please! - A Look Back at Birmingham's Pubs: Based on the Mitchells and Butlers Archive. David R. Hassall (ed.). Crown Cards. ISBN 978-0-9543913-0-0.
- ^ a b Fifty Years of Brewing, 1879-1929. Mitchells & Butlers. 1929.
- ^ a b "Our history". Mitchells & Butlers. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
- ^ a b c "M&B Brewery, Cape Hill". Rails Around Birmingham. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
- ^ "Heritage of Springfield". University of Wolverhampton.
- ^ Richmond, Lesley; Turton, Alison (1990). The Brewing Industry: A Guide to Historical Records. Manchester University Press. p. 236. ISBN 978-0-7190-3032-1.
- ^ "http://breweryhistory.com/wiki/index.php?title=Highgate_%26_Walsall_Brewery_Co._Ltd". Retrieved 2 July 2023.
{{cite web}}: External link in|title= - ^ "Brewery at Quaffle". Directory of Real Ale Breweries. Retrieved 3 October 2008.
- ^ War Memorial at Mitchell & Butler Brewery [dead link]
- ^ a b "Brum's best beers". Birmingham Mail. 24 October 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
- ^ Press Association (22 September 2015). "Mitchells & Butlers calls time on chief executive Alistair Darby | Business". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 September 2015.