Thomas Norfolk & Sons Ltd

Thomas Norfolk & Sons Ltd, Deptford Brewery, 2 Deptford Bridge, London SE8.

Earliest record 1851 when Norfolk was brewing for Edward Lambert.

Registered October 1894 with 46 freehold and 6 tied houses.

Acquired by the Dartford Brewery Co. Ltd. in 1904 with 55 tied houses. Last brew 1905.

List of Thomas Norfolk & Sons Ltd pubs.

Peter Moynihan write:-

NO MUSIC HALL “During the week it has been stated that the brewery premises in Deptford Broadway at the corner of Brookmill-road, which are now the property of the Dartford Brewery Company, but formerly and for many years in the occupation of Messrs Norfolk & Sons, had been acquired by Mr Walter Gibbons, as a site for the erection of a music hall. Mr Gibbons informs us that the statement is incorrect. The manager of the Dartford Brewery Company, who was also questioned by us, says that although he understands that approaches were made some time since on behalf of persons interested in music-hall promotion nothing definite has resulted. At all events, "unfortunately", to quote the manager of the Brewery Company, “the property still remains on hand; it has not been disposed of.” Kentish Mercury, March 1908

Walter (later Sir Walter) Gibbons was a music hall singer and pioneer of early cinema. He inherited his father-in-law’s directorship of the London Syndicate Halls and in 1910 he opened their flagship Music Hall, the London Palladium no less.

The Deptford Brewery’s last brew had been mashed in on January 6th 1905 and the brewery was offered for sale by auction on June 29th but failed to sell. The premises were eventually sold in 1908 to a development syndicate and plans were laid before Deptford Borough Council in 1909 to develop the buildings on the junction of Brookmill Road and Deptford Broadway into shops with offices above. According to the Kentish Mercury, the plans presented a “handsome elevation and design”. The brewery premises, together with the adjacent ironworks, were later used as a gin distillery by Messrs Seager Evans Ltd; a new distillery was built on the site in 1953. After closure this building was used for mixed industrial purposes but was converted to residential accommodation in 2006.