Brain & Co. Ltd

The Old Brewery yard in the early 1930s

Letterhead 1962

Letterhead 1981

S A Brain & Co Ltd

(1) The Old Brewery, St Mary Street, Cardiff.

(2) 60 Nora Street, Roath, Cardiff.

(3) The Cardiff Brewery, PO Box 53, Crawshay Street, Cardiff CF10 5DS.

(4) Dragon Brewery, Pacific Road, Pacific Business Park, Cardiff CF24 5HJ

Still brewing independently.

The Old Brewery was founded in 1713 and was acquired by Samuel Arthur Brain, a Bristol man, in December 1882. Registered 12th April 1897 with 74 public houses. In 1905, they acquired James Jones, Friendship Brewery of Cardiff.

The second brewery was built in 1914 at 60 Nora Street, Roath, and operated in parallel with the Old Brewery.

The Roath brewery was demolished in 1995 and production concentrated at the Old Brewery. Crown Buckley PLC (formerly Buckley's Brewery Ltd and Crown Brewery Co. Ltd (Pontyclun) was then acquired in 1997.

In 1999, with operation from the Old Brewery becoming increasingly unviable, the company bought the former William Hancock & Co. Ltd Brewery in Crawshay Street from Bass and moved production there.

On 16th March 2019, HRH the Duke of Cambridge officially opened the Dragon Brewery, located some 2km east of Cardiff city centre. The Crawshay Street premises will be redeveloped, but with some historic parts retained, including the brewhouse and chimney. A mixed-use scheme is proposed, possibly including a pub, microbrewery and visitor attraction.

The brewery features in The Noted Breweries of Great Britain and Ireland by Alfred Barnard published 1890.

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The remains of the St Mary Street brewery in Cardiff City Centre

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Various images of the brewery:

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  Roath

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  Roath

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  Roath

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  Roath

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  Roath

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  2006

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  2006

The Crawshay Street brewery in 2008:

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The Crawshay Street brewery in 2014:

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