Campaign for Real Ale WATFORD AND DISTRICT BRANCH Present an Auction of Breweriana on Thursday 19th March 2020 at the WEST HERTS SPORTS CLUB, Park Avenue, Watford Starting at 8.00pm, viewing of lots from 7.00pm CAVEAT The following is the list of lots we hope to have available at the 2020 CAMRA Watford & District branch breweriana auction. Although we hope all the listed items will be available on the night, we cannot guarantee that they all will be, nor that all the lots will be constituted as shown. All dimensions are approximate and are in centimetres (2.54cm to the inch for those who can't remember). Comments on the condition of the items are subjective, therefore close viewing of the lots on the night is strongly recommended. XX in the right hand margin indicates good or very good condition; X some marking/poor condition; blank indicates very poor condition; o unseen. PURCHASE OF LOTS To reduce the need for items to be paid for individually, we propose to keep a record of each purchase so that all lots bought can be collected and paid for either during the intervals or at the end. In order for this to operate smoothly we would ask all bidders to register for a bidder’s number and to show that after a successful bid. Cheques will only be accepted if supported by a bankers' card and can only be taken up to the relevant maximum indicated on the card. We are also able to accept payment by Visa/Mastercard credit cards. Cash is also accepted! There are 'reserves' on various lots in the auction: if the bidding fails to reach the reserve amount the item will be withdrawn. We are again providing a guide price for those lots where such a figure is above £10. These appear in red at the end of the item’s description. The lower figure of the range shown is not less than the reserve price of the lot and may be higher. There is no buyer’s premium; the final bid is what you pay. Bids can be accepted in advance, please send them to: Bill Austin, 18 Malden Road, Watford, WD17 4EW, by phone: 07789 900411, or by e-mail to [email protected]. On the day, bids can be left with Bill or via the mobile number. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to all the Watford & District branch members who have donated and collected items for the auction, to our colleagues in other branches and CAMRA Games and Collectables who have also provided items and to the Watford Museum for their support. Particular thanks to the late John Garwell and Dave Lewin who left items to CAMRA. Acknowledgement also to the Brewery History Society and the British Beermat Collectors Society (BBCS) for all their research plagiarised in the descriptions. Special thanks to Martin Cornell for filling in a lot of the gaps in my knowledge of Benskins. Lot No Description Condition 1. Benskins Bitter bar towel. XX - dates from the reintroduction of the brand in 1980. 2 A Sheffield “Beery” map. A list of over 40 pubs and shops together with a map of their locations, XX produced for Sheffield Beer Week, believed to have been produced for the 2019 event. 3. Crib board, bakelite, “Brewers Trumans since 1666”. o - merged with Watneys in 1974, closed in 1989. 4. Large (c42x59cm) Bass poster “The Drink of the Empire”. Reproduction. XX - the brewery was founded in Burton-on-Trent in 1777. 5. Bottle of Wells & Young’s Courage Imperial Russian Stout, 10% abv, 275ml, brewed in 2013. XX - the beer was originally brewed by Thrale’s, and then later by Barclay’s. £10-12 6. Courage Imperial Russian Stout 1981. XX - the Courage version of the beer, the 1960’s editions of the Brewery Manual describe the beer as “very strong”. £10-12 7. Halstead Brewery cheque for £7 4s 3d dated Dec 10th 1922 made payable to Adams & Sons. XX - brewery started in 1859, bought by Thomas Francis Adams in 1876 and taken over by a subsidiary of Fremlins in 1939 and closed. 8. Empty, half pint bottle with “Benskins” embossed around the bottom. Was a corked bottle. XX - John Dyson II bought land in the High Street in 1810 and began building the Cannon Brewery. 9. Reproduction metal Fullers London Pride wall sign, shield design, c19.5x26.5cm max. XX - Fullers sold the brewery to Asahi at the beginning of last year. £10-12 10. A pint and a half pint tankard, honeycomb design, GR stamped, verification office number 64 – X Sunderland. The pint tankard has a chip inside the brim. 11. Book: East End Pubs by Johnny Homer, 96pp, card cover, published 2018. A colourful guide to XX 42 pubs in East London. 12. Oval Vaux cloth badge, c8x11cm. XX - Sunderland brewer who quit brewing in 1999, and the company disappeared into Whitbread the following year. The brand has been resurrected. 13. Morland & Co Abingdon embossed, clear, codd bottle, some frosting. X - taken over by Greene King in 1999 and closed. 14. The Breweries of Britain poster, c40x56cm, small tear. Produced Dec 1951, amended 1976. X 15. Lacons crown cork bottle opener. XX - Great Yarmouth brewery, Whitbreaded in 1965, and closed in 1968. The brand was resurrected in 2013 and houses a small museum (albeit with limited opening hours) full of old Lacons items. 16. Benskins calendar 1983, illustrated with old photos, including old drays (horse drawn, Commer, XX Scammel). - when John Dyson III died in 1867 the Cannon brewery was sold at auction to a 57 year old ex-hotel owner. Joseph Benskin. Lot No Description Condition 17. An assortment of items from newish Irish breweries. Beermats from: Carlow (Curim, Moling), XX Celtic Brew Finian’s; Dublin Brewing Co (4 Becket’s); Dwan; Irish Brewing Co (No.1 Brew); Porterhouse (Brainblasta, Hersbrucker, Plain, Red, Wrassler’s XXXX; Dwan A4 poster and small leaflet; small Carlow leaflet. - Carlow (aka O’Hara’s) have been going since 1996 as have Porterhouse; Dublin Brewing (“Dublin’s second largest brewery”) also started in 1996, but closed around 2005; Celtic Brew started 1997, closed 2006; Dwan lasted from around 1998 to 2003; Irish Brewing Co only seem to have been around in the early noughties and had definitely closed by 2013. 18. “Springwell Pure Drinking Water & Ice Co.” pottery ginger beer bottle. XX - were based in Mill End, Rickmansworth, and were operating up until at least 1949. 19. M&B blotter 1939. Blotting paper has been used. Contains photos of 2 of their pubs, and the X interiors of 2 others. - their Cape Hill brewery dated from 1878, merged with Bass in 1961, closed by Coors in 2002. 20. Box of 12 bottles from the southern part of England: pre minimum contents: Gale’s Champion Ale; XX Greene King Farm Stout; Morland Brown Ale; fl oz/ml: Hook Norton Hook Ale; Morrell’s Brown Oxford Stout; Wadworth’s Light Ale; Young’s Pale Ale; ml/fl oz: Brakspear Henley Pale Ale; Brakspear Strong Ale; Eldridge Pope Huntsman Green Top Pale Ale; Ridleys Stock Ale; Shepherd Neame Light Ale. 21. Hardback book “Britain’s Lost Breweries and Beers” by Chris Arnott, 192pp, 2012. Covers 30 XX breweries who no longer brew. 22. A model of the White Horse pub at Jackson’s Bridge, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, (c18x13x8 cm) XX made famous for its appearances in “Last of the Summer Wine”. It was then a Bass pub, it is still open and is now a free house. 23. Framed repro poster of Banks’s Brewery, Wolverhampton, c45x32.5cm. XX - Banks’s dates from 1875. 24. Empty Highgate Brewery bottle, name embossed around the bottom. XX - registered in 1898, taken over by M&B in 1939, management buyout 1985, merged with Aston Manor 2000, closed 2010. 25. Benskins Brewery metal bush ring. XX - these were primarily used in wooden barrels to protect the wood around the bunghole in the belly of the cask. 26. Plastic stand up Hook Norton XXX Bitter sign, 20x9.5x3cm. XX - the brewery’s been going since 1846. 27. Oval (c15x13 cm max) Butlers glass ash tray with a picture of their trademark be whiskered XX gentleman, their founder William Butler. - Wolverhampton brewer started in 1833, taken over by M&B in 1960, closed in 1991. 28. Benskins Brewery picture fridge magnet. XX - for the first 3 years, Joseph Benskin had a partner, and traded as Benskin and Bradley. 29. Hope and Anchor Jubilee tray “Stout value for money”. Features 2 bottles of stout in front of a X drawing of the Scotsman’s Pack Inn, Hathersage, near Sheffield, c34cm square. Some signs of wear. - Sheffield brewer who used this name from 1942 until the early 1960s, closed in 1994. 30. Handpump – details on request. 31. Henley Ales water jug. Hunting scene, no makers name, c12cm tall. XX - from Brakspears, who brewed in Henley from c1799 to 2002. £10-12 Lot No Description Condition 32. Benskin’s cast metal bottle opener, c8.5cm long. Has blank rim. XX - when Joseph Benskin died in 1877, his wife Maria took over running the brewery, which meant that at that time al 3 major Watford breweries were run by women. 33. Courage “A Family Tree” poster, 1987, c60x40cm. Shows bottle labels from some of the breweries XX they took over and closed. - Courage’s Anchor Brewery closed in 1981. 34. 2 gallon Strong’s pottery flagon, has crack. X - founded around 1778, this Romsey brewery was Whitbreaded on 1969 and survived for another 12 years. 35. T.Wild & Sons light green bottle XX - started brewing in Mill End about 1870, sold to Sedgwicks in 1900.