Benskins

Infobox Brewery
name = Benskins


caption =
location = 194 High Street,
Watford,
Herts
WD17 2DT
owner = Carlsberg Group
opened = 1693
closed = 1972
production =
active_beers =
seasonal_beers =
other_beers =

Benskins was the pre-eminent brewery in Watford until its takeover by Ind Coope in 1957.

History

Benskins brewery had its roots in the brewery founded in Watford by John Pope around 1693. The brewery was inherited by his daughter Sarah and her husband John Dyson in 1741. For the next two generations part of the brewery was inherited by John Dyson (son, and grandson of the original) each of whom bought out his co-heirs. When the third John Dyson died in 1867 the brewery was sold to Joseph Benskin and William Bradley. Bradley quit the partnership in 1870.

Over the following eighty years Benskins became predominant in the area, acquiring all the other Watford breweries, Healey's in 1898, Sedgwick's in 1923, and the Lion Brewery from Charles Wells in 1951. Healey's had previously, in the months prior to its acquisition, bought the Victoria Brewery on St Albans Road.

The brewery remained a family business until its sale to Ind Coope in 1957. In 1959 Ind Coope merged with Ansells, and Taylor Walker & Co to form Allied Breweries.cite book
last = Whitaker
first = Allan
title = Brewers in Hertfordshire
publisher = Univ of Hertfordshire Press
date = March 2006
url = http://perseus.herts.ac.uk/uhinfo/university-of-hertfordshire-press/hertfordshire-publications/forthcoming-from-hertfordshire-publications/brewers-in-hertfordshire.cfm
isbn = 9780954218973] [ [http://www.quaffale.org.uk/php/brewery/706 Quaffale.org.uk - Allied Breweries] ]

The Benskins name was maintained after the Ind Coope sale, with the brand being partially revived and applied to a number of Pubs in the Allied estate during the 1980s. The new company, Ind Coope Benskins Ltd maintained a Head Office in Watford during its final years, occupying the former Clarendon Hotel (The Pennant, currently The Flag) on Station Road.

Benskins Best Bitter continued to be produced, although now brewed in Burton-upon-Trent, until 2002.

Legacy

The Benskins name lives on in the [http://freespace.virgin.net/benskins.morris/Benskins/Benskins_Morris.htm Benskins Morris of Watford] . The former office building of the Benskins Brewery (also known as the Cannon brewery) is now home to [http://www.watfordmuseum.org.uk/welcome.html Watford Museum] .

References