Mitchells & Butlers
IndustryBrewing
Founded1898 (1898)
Defunct1961 (1961)
FateMerged with Bass
Headquarters
Cape Hill, Smethwick
,
England
52°29′14″N 1°57′03″W / 52.4872°N 1.9508°W / 52.4872; -1.9508

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]

The derelict Springfield Brewery, seen through its entrance arch in 2013

Another brewery, opened by William Butler and Company in 1874 at Springfield in Wolverhampton, also became part of M&B in 1960. Brewing 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]

An original Mitchells & Butlers Brewery pub, The Queens Arms, in central Birmingham

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 brewery closed in 2002 with production switched to Burton upon Trent.[7] The Cape hill brewery was undergoing demolition in 2005.[3] 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

References

  • 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.
  1. 1 2 Fifty Years of Brewing, 1879-1929. Mitchells & Butlers. 1929.
  2. 1 2 "Our history". Mitchells & Butlers. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
  3. 1 2 3 "M&B Brewery, Cape Hill". Rails Around Birmingham. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  4. ↑ "Heritage of Springfield". University of Wolverhampton.
  5. ↑ Richmond, Lesley; Turton, Alison (1990). The Brewing Industry: A Guide to Historical Records. Manchester University Press. p. 236. ISBN 978-0-7190-3032-1.
  6. ↑ "http://breweryhistory.com/wiki/index.php?title=Highgate_%26_Walsall_Brewery_Co._Ltd". Retrieved 2 July 2023. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  7. ↑ "Brewery at Quaffle". Directory of Real Ale Breweries. Retrieved 3 October 2008.
  8. ↑ War Memorial at Mitchell & Butler Brewery
  9. 1 2 "Brum's best beers". Birmingham Mail. 24 October 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  10. ↑ Press Association (22 September 2015). "Mitchells & Butlers calls time on chief executive Alistair Darby | Business". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
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