Hartley's Brewery Co. Ltd

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Hartleys W Cowick.jpg
Hartleys ad 001.jpeg
Courtesy Roy Denison

Hartley's Brewery Co. Ltd, Crown Brewery, Spa Well Lane, West Cowick, East Yorkshire.

Founded 1850 by J.& T.Hartley. Registered 1888.

Acquired by the Hull Brewery Co. Ltd. 1957 with 27 public houses and was closed. Brewery still standing.

Pat Aldabella and Robert Barnard write:-

A brewery existed on the site of the Crown Brewery before 1841. Eastern Counties Herald 1/7/1841 “for sale, dwelling house with malt kiln and other warehouses and buildings and the garden and yard adjoining in occupation or tenure of James Latham, maltster and brewer. Also land in Moor Hill, Cowick, containing 5 acres 34 perches situate on the south side of the Town Street. in occupation or tenure of James Latham”.

James Latham married Sarah Dobson in 1817; they had sons Charles, Jervis and James born between 1823 and 1832 at Snaith.

The Cowick brewery was owned by Bevis Pulleine, a farmer of Baxter Hall, Drax, and Joseph Bowman, a farmer at Snaith. In 1854, William Hartley, a farmer at Gowdall, acquired the land. The property comprised a dwelling house fronting Spa Well Lane with maltkiln, brewery, stables, homestead and garth adjoining, occupying three roods. Spa Well Lane was to the east, Primrose Lane to the west, to the south was land late in the occupation of Sarah Latham but now of John Hartley.

In 1859 Thomas, brewer in Cowick, and William Hartley acquired the lease of Moor Hill Close (5 acres 21 perches). Spa Well Lane was on the west, land belonging to William Hartley on the north and south. William Hartley was born around 1790, his son, Thomas, was born around 1831.

The partnership of John and Thomas Hartley founded the Crown Brewery in 1850 but they lived in Snaith. The firm was registered as Hartley’s Brewery Co. Ltd. in 1888 operating from the Crown Brewery. The firm owned the Golden Lion, Cleveland Street, Doncaster and the Hill Top Hotel, Conisborough amongst other pubs. They were taken over by the Hull Brewery Co. Ltd. in 1957 with 27 licensed houses. The brewery was then used as a depot until it was sold in the 1960s to the present occupier.

Hartley’s Brewery still stands. The site developed as a result of the popularity of the nearby spas. Originally a public house(?) with possibly a small brewhouse, this was demolished/rebuilt and a small common brewery/maltings built adjacent to the new house, most of this development survives. Hartley’s built a modern tower brewery at the rear of the old brewery, the utensils have unfortunately been removed from the brewery but otherwise it is intact.


An assortment of views of the brewery.