Gray and Dacre Brewery

The Gray and Dacre Brewery was established in West Ham, Essex, in the first half of the 19th century. It was probably set up by John Gray (1791-1826) and a member of the Dacre family, which was resident in West Ham for several generations until the 1860s, possibly Francis Dacre, who is described on the 1841 census as a "brewer". John Gray was the son of Owen Gray, of March, Cambridgeshire, who was also a brewer. John's widow, Lydia (1794-1855), and some of their children were still living at the brewery in 1841. Early in 1846 the brewery was purchased by Messrs. Charrington and Co. of London, with the plan to use it not for brewing but for other purposes. In June of that year Messrs. Gray and Dacre put the contents of the brewery up for auction.

John Gray is buried under the floor of the nave of All Saints' Church, West Ham (see "History of the Parishes of East and West Ham" (1888) by Katherine Fry, daughter of Elizabeth Fry, the prison reformer).

John Gray's wife, Lydia Shears, (youngest daughter of James Shears of James Shears and Sons), had a niece, Rebecca Spurrell, who was married to the brewer James Watney.

John Gray died in 1826. The Gray mentioned in the auction announcement of June 6, 1846 in "The Times" may have been John and Lydia's son Owen Gray who at that time was a solicitor in West Ham and London.