John Parham & Co

John Parham & Co, Walton Elm Brewery, Caraway Lane, Marnhull, Dorset.

June 1894 Parham announced that he would be moving to the premises of Jennings Styring White & Co opposite.

They acquired his business in 1897 with 2 tied houses.

Sale 11th February 1901 as a butter factory.

Following a site visit in 2021, Colin West writes:-

In around 1920, Mr Blake, caretaker of the brewery buildings, met a gentleman walking in the field south of the Walton Elm Brewery. He invited him in for te, and was fortunate to have made the acquaintance of Thomas Hardy. In discussion, Hardy indicated that Tess, of d’Urberville fame, was likely born in the thatched cottage across the field, then owned by the brewery.

This cottage was renamed Tess Cottage as a result.

These are my photos of the brewery and the adjacent maltings. The maltings is dated 1599.

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In 2021, the brewery is owned by a developer who has applied for planning consent to create (or perhaps renovate to modern standard) three apartments.

Extract from Marnhull a Dorset Village at the Millenium:-

“The first formal mention of the Marnhull Brewery stems from 1821 when Thomas Burt leased the brewery but to whom is not known. In 1842, it was acquired by the Jennings family although Thomas Burt still remained brewing and the brewery acquired The Crown Inn in the same year.

Surviving records from 1852, have Thomas Burt and William Jennings still involved but at some stage between 1859 and 1875 Mr Burt disappears from the brewery scene and appears to have been replaced by a Mr Baker.

In 1881 a Mr Styring had sold his Poole brewery and appeared to have joined the Jennings but in what capacity it is not known. However, in 1895 the Marnhull Brewery merged with Mr White of Stalbridge to become Jennings Styring White & Co.

Eldridge, Pope & Co. Ltd acquired the brewery in 1913 along with 36 other establishments and clubs as apparently Mr Jennings had other breweries in Dorset, Wiltshire and South Somerset which were included in the deal.

In 1934 Hall and Woodhouse purchased the brewery and five other pubs from Eldridge, Pope & Co. Ltd. Subsequently some of these pubs were leased to Hall & Woodhouse Ltd.

It is not clear when Marnhull Brewery ceased to exist in that function but by 1970 the brewery, malthouses and outbuildings had been converted into a private house. The brewery is still a local landmark although its tower had been altered and now has a gabled roof.”