Before Sam Smith's and John Smith's: the forgotten breweries of Tadcaster
Equipment being delivered to John Smith’s by steam-powered cart. From Paul Crystal’s Tadcaster Through Time (Image: Supplied)
Before Sam Smith's – MAXINE GORDON looks back at the forgotten breweries of Tadcaster
BREWING has a long history in the North Yorkshire town of Tadcaster.
Recently, we told the gripping story of Sam Smith's and John Smith's breweries in Tadcaster – and how a family split shaped the development of these two industrial titans of the town.
In summary, a bitter inheritance dispute in Victorian Tadcaster led to the creation of these two rival breweries that still define the town today.
When brewing pioneer John Smith died in 1879, he left his business to his brothers William and Samuel. However, his will sparked a family feud.
Before his death in 1886, William transferred the brewery's stock, equipment and famous name to a newly built site, leaving nephew Samuel Smith to inherit little more than an empty brewery building.
John Smith - brewery founder
Undeterred, Samuel reopened the old premises as Samuel Smith's Old Brewery, while the new brewery continued under the helm of the Riley-Smith wing of the family as John Smith's.
The dispute created two brewing giants in one small Yorkshire town, with John Smith's becoming a major national brand and Samuel Smith's remaining proudly independent.
This week, we are looking at what came before the Smiths' empires – and sharing some remarkable photos that take us right back to that era.
Read more:
- Sam Smith's v John Smith's: The family feud that divided a North Yorkshire town
- Wonderful to see this Sam Smith's pub reopen – hope old habits are gone for good'
- Humphrey Smith - the eccentric Yorkshire brewer who left his mark on Tadcaster
Few people know this story better than Paul Crystal, a local historian who has written about the brewing industry in his book, Tadcaster Through Time, which includes a number of wonderful photographs that capture the town’s brewing past.
Think of Tadcaster, beer and pubs, and Sam Smith’s and John Smith’s are the names that come to mind today.
John Smiths Brewery, Tadcaster..
But, as Paul writes, in the early days there were a number of other breweries – and household names for the town.
In the 1870s, Benjamin Braime started a small brewery (the Victoria Brewery) next to the new John Smith brewery; and another business, Wilson and Cundall, opened up in Maltkin Square, the site of the current car park.
It ceased trading after 1893, and its premises were taken over by Benjamin Braime, who sold the High Street brewery to John Smith's.
Braime's Brewery continued until 1906 when it, too, went bankrupt.
One photo we are sharing again today shows equipment being delivered to John Smith’s by cart – the workmen in the picture seem more than happy to take a break to have their photo taken.
Equipment being delivered to John Smith's by cart. from Tadcaster Through Time
Unfortunately, the photo is undated.
However, going by the fact that the cart in the photo is still horse-drawn, the image must have been taken in Victorian or very early Edwardian times.
A second photo shows a John Smith’s wagon delivering barrels.
Equipment being delivered to John Smith’s by steam-powered cart. From Paul Crystal’s Tadcaster Through Time
(Image: Supplied)
If you look closely you can see that it is steam-powered – you can even see some of the steam!
Our third photo shows another side of brewing in Tadcaster – the pub.
The one showed here is The Travelling Man, which opened opposite The Leeds Arms in about 1855, according to Paul.
It was bought by John Smith’s in 1896, so the photograph clearly dates after that.
The pub was demolished in about 1975 and replaced with housing.
The Travelling Man pub, which was bought by John Smith's in 1896. From Tadcaster Through Time
Share your stories and memories
If you love delving into York's past and seeing photos and reading stories from yesteryear then make sure you check The Press every day for its regular nostalgia stories. And don't miss our eight-page nostalgia supplement every Wednesday in the paper.
We also have more than 3,000 members in our online nostalgia group on Facebook, Why We Love York - Memories. It is free to join and you will find us at www.facebook.com/groups/yorknostalgia/.
It would be great to see your old photos of York - and they don't have to be from centuries ago. We all love seeing old photos from our recent past, and some of our more popular stories with readers date from the 70s, 80s and 90s.
If you have a nostalgia story for us, please email maxine.gordon@thepress.co.uk.