Style & Winch Ltd

Messrs. A. F. Style & Co., Medway Brewery, Maidstone, Kent. Brewers’ Journal 15th March 1898

Style & Winch Ltd, Medway Brewery, St Peter's Street, Maidstone, Kent.

The Medway Brewery was established by William Baldwin in 1799. Holmes & Style were listed in directories of 1870 and 1882. That partnership was dissolved in December 1883 and the company became A F Style & Co.

During the period 1887 to 1899, the brewery was substantially rebuilt and enlarged. The architect was William Bradford. Registered in March 1899 to merge A F Style & Co, and Edward Winch & Sons Ltd of Chatham with a total of 356 public houses. The Chatham Brewery was closed in 1899. Style & Winch were acquired by Barclay, Perkins & Co. Ltd in March 1929 with 600 tied houses. Ceased brewing 1965 and the brewery was demolished.

Acquisition History:

• They acquired H & O Vallance of Sittingbourne in 1905 and closed that brewery.
• They acquired Henry Simmons of Hadlow, Kent in 1905 with 14 houses and the brewery was closed.
• Tooting Brewery Ltd was acquired in November 1907 with 14 tied houses and was closed.
• Ashford Breweries Ltd Lion Brewery was acquired in 1912 and the brewery was closed.
• In 1918 they acquired Woodhams & Co. Ltd of Rochester and closed it.
• Edwin Finn & Sons Ltd of Lydd was acquired in 1921 with 42 tied houses and was closed.
• They acquired Royal Brewery (Brentford) Ltd in 1922; brewing ceased there in June 1923.
• The Dartford Brewery Co. Ltd was acquired in 1924. The Brentford and Dartford companies were identifiable as associate companies into the 1950s.

The Medway Brewery from "Kent Tells the World", 1933:

And now for a word or two about the Brewery itself. That great red brick pile on the bank of the Medway, close to the Maidstone Bridge, surmounted by one of the most famous weather vanes in England, the old brown beer jug and glass – it used to be a standing joke to point this out to strangers and ask them to guess the capacity in gallons; the guesses were always wrong, more or less, the height of the vane from the ground being so misleading – here is the correct answer. The jug, which is made of copper, stands 5 feet high and holds 108 gallons; the glass is nearly 3 feet and holds nine gallons.

• The story of The “Dungeness Express”

An assortment of images of the brewery

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  June 1970. Courtesy Roy Denison.

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  June 1970. Courtesy Roy Denison.

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  June 1970. Courtesy Roy Denison.

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  June 1970. Courtesy Roy Denison.

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  June 1970. Courtesy Roy Denison.

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  The brewery in 1980.

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  The brewery in 1985.

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  The brewery in 1985.

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  The brewery in 1985.

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  The brewery in 1985.

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  The brewery in 1985.

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  The brewery in 1985.

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Various artefacts, labels, etc

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  Courtesy Roy Denison.

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  Courtesy Roy Denison.

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  Courtesy Roy Denison.

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  An advert from 1890.

Some Style & Winch pubs

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  The Lion (now Green Lion) in Rainham High Street. Courtesy Peter Moynihan.

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  The London Hotel in Maidstone. Note the early Holmes & Style signage.

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  The Mulberry Tree, Lower Rainham Road, Gillingham c.1900.

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  Man of Kent, Rochester.

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  Man of Kent, Rochester. Courtesy Roger Corbett 2011.

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  Lord Nelson, Kingsferry (from the 1953 film 'The Long Memory').

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  Long Reach Tavern, near Dartford.

Entry in the Trade Mark Registry Registration No  : 38,245 Description  : Decorated jug & glass Date of Application  : 25/6/1884 Used Prior to 1875?  : NO