Charles Dagnall & Co

From Brewery History Society Wiki
Revision as of 19:34, 16 June 2019 by Bhadmin (talk | contribs)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Horley F2168 Albert.jpg
Youell & Ekin Horley.jpg
Advert 1895

Charles Dagnall & Co, Albert Brewery, Station Road, Horley, Surrey.

A planned merged with Henry and Benjamin Holmes of Hornchurch, Essex to form the Hornchurch Brewery Co. Ltd, never happened and in 1891 the brewery was sold to George Brown.

In 1894 he sold the premises to Youell & Elkin Ltd.

Acquired by Page & Overton's Brewery Ltd. 1903 but continued to brew until 1917.

Brewery still standing.


THE HORLEY BREWERY by Os Brown

Up until about a hundred and fifty years ago, our local public houses in Horley each brewed their own ales and beers. Then Newnham & Piper established the Albert Brewery on the north side of Station Road East, immediately adjacent to the eastern side of the railway line. In December 1867 it was taken over by Francis Albert Piper & Co. A few years later, the company became Piper Brothers.

In May 1885, the business was sold to Charles Dagnall & Co. In 1890 it became The Old Hornchurch Brewery Co Ltd and Charles Dagnall was the Managing Director. By this time the brewery buildings had been largely rebuilt and considerably extended. A brewery house was also erected.

The following year the business was sold again, although the name appears to have remained unchanged. The new owner was George Brown (my Grandfather), who had previously been the landlord and licensee of the "Chequers Hotel" in Horley from 1878 to 1890.

The brewery changed hands yet again when in 1894 it was sold to Messrs Youell & Elkin, both of whom came to live in the immediate neighbourhood. Their business appears to have flourished at this time, helped perhaps by the prominent advertising in the "Horley Advertiser" which began publication in 1895. The trade mark was a very jovial-looking brewer cradling in his arms a man-sized beer bottle. By 1902, agencies had been opened in London, Crawley, Burgess Hill, Hand Cross, Oxted and Rusper. From photographs, it would suggest that the staff employed at the brewery totalled about sixteen. Included in this number were about five draymen who drove the horse-drawn canvas-covered carts and drays for delivery; a farrier to deal with the horses which were stabled on the premises; an engineer to attend to the machinery and artesian well which provided water; a storekeeper and an office staff of two comprising the brewer/manager (my Father) and a book-keeper.

In 1903 the brewery was again sold, this time to Messrs Page & Overton, the Croydon brewers, who carried on the business at Horley until 1917 when it finally closed down as a brewery.

For a short while some of the buildings were used as a store or warehouse by Messrs W H Batchellor who had premises opposite on the corner of Station Approach (later to become Youngs of Horley and is now Canada Maritime, on a redeveloped site). Later, for many years the buildings were used as a laundry by The Smallfield Laundry.

Several parts of the original buildings exist today and they have been used by a variety of companies over the years, but much of it remains empty today. The tall factory-like chimney and part of the building with ventilating louvres can still be easily recognised today from Station Road, or from the railway.

The brewery in 2014


Entry in the Trade Mark Registry

Registration No  : 180,432
Description  : Man with bottle
Date of Application  : 2/6/1894
Used Prior to 1875?  : NO