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Dorothy Hughes from Bangor
I am trying to find out about Julius Augusus Chadwick who I believe ran a brewery in Wrexham. One of his daughters married Noel Murless the racehorse trainer. He was my grandmother's father, she was married to the Rev Alfred Rees who was vicar of Bistre Church, Buckley, for some time. I don't know much about the family history and would like to learn what I can. My mother was Betty Rees and she had a brother, Cyril.
Mon Jun 22 08:32:40 2009
Maurice Crump from Aylesbury
I have just come across this site whilst trying to see if there were any people around who may still remember my father - Lawrence Crump who sadly passed away aged 89. He was area manager for Border Breweries in Oswestry and surrounding North Wales from 1949 until he retired in 1985. Before the Second World War and after until 1949 he worked in the Rainbow Stores Wrexham as a lad. I can remember my dad talking about many of the names mentioned: Bill and Miles Kington, Herbie Owen was my father's counterpart doing the North Wales coast. I was brought up on Border Bitter - wonderful stuff. Also remember DO (Doris Owen, I think).
Tue Mar 10 10:05:16 2009
Gareth Hughes, West Australia
A very sad day for Welsh brewing.
Mon Aug 4 12:02:42 2008
Stewart Kington, Bristol
For Mike Gibson. Do get in touch. I remember Herbie Owen very well, especially his smile. I was meant to follow my father's footsteps, Bill Kington, into Border Breweries and did a sort of apprenticeship, working in each of the departments for 2 weeks or more. I have never met such a nice group of people. They all looked after me very well. I had to do a stint at the bottling stores and all the lads in the Brewery warned me that if I thought they swore a lot wait till I got to the Bottling Stores which was staffed entirely by girls. I turned up on Monday morning with much trepidation, but was looked after wonderfully by a delicious bunch of girls. A message to Steve Black who wrote in this column about The Plough, Gresford, on Fri Oct 6 10:27:49 2006. As a family, we lived in Gresford in the 1940s and often went to the Plough where I remember Captain Roberts, the smell of the bar the morning after and the Captain's wife who we called Aunty Bee, a large American lady with a gravelly voice who was very warm and kindly to us children. That is my brother Miles and I. Each Spring we would set off on a bike ride through the lanes around Gresford and stopping now and again to test the water from springs by the side of the roads. Aunty Bee seemed to know them all. She was a large lady whose large bike had a cover over the back wheel to prevent her skirt getting caught in the spokes. As to Wrexham lager, I enjoyed the dark larger on tap, which made a welcome break to Border Best Bitter. Not wanting to be seen in the opponents pubs, we used to sneak up to a Wrexham Lager pub by the church. Have no idea what it was called. I celebrated my 18th birthday at the Nags Head where the beer ran copiously in an upstairs room but I can't remember too much about the evening.
Wed May 28 08:47:49 2008
Sylvia Williams, Slough, Berks
My father, Edwin Huxley, was a lorry driver for this brewery for many years. I used to go with him to deliver beers to Llandudno and Liverpool Docks. I was about 7 or 8 then - 1939. Sylvia Williams, ex Jones, ex Huxley.
Tue Apr 22 07:41:20 2008
Owens, Shaun. Wrexham
Was in tears, have not been right from that day to this. Lager just isn't the same any more - the fun has gone out of it. It's all 5% this and 5% that now, no more good old 3.4%. Always said I would put a few cans away in case of emergencies, that day came and went and now what? Is there any hope - will anyone save us...
Mon Mar 17 09:47:30 2008
Mike Gibson
My memories of Border breweries date back to the 1960s. My gran, Mrs Kelly, ran the Antelope Hotel in Rhydymwyn. Mr Bill Kington, the then owner of Border Breweries, was a very good family friend and came to the Antelope on a regular basis. One of the old hand drayman named Jack later became his personal chauffeur and drove him around all over North Wales. Also, Herbie Owen from Wrexham was a Senior Border brewery rep who worked the North Wales coast, he too was a very good family friend. Have been trying to contact his son Terry who I am told still lives in Wrexham. Just today read on Ceefax that Miles Kington (one of Bill Kington's sons) has sadly passed away today aged 66. I knew him well although he was 10 years older than me.
Fri Feb 1 08:17:15 2008
Dave Williams, Ffrith
I was employed at the brewery for quite a few years where I worked in the engineering dept as a fitter working in the boiler house and engine room which is where I met some fantastic people and where it was a pleasure to go to work each day.
Mon Dec 31 09:48:14 2007
Mike Walsh, Stirling
My grandmother lived at 8 Charles St, Wrexham. Her father James was a clogger and owned the shop with apprentices (one lived with the family and perhaps 8 others nearby). James and family must have left Wrexham around 1901 - but perhaps the shop carried on making clogs.
Tue Feb 27 10:16:11 2007
Mike Davies from Wrexham
Chadwicks brewery was located in Bridge street on the site now occupied by Peppers night club. It closed in 1922 and Soames brewery took over its pubs. If my memory serves me right, a Mr Chadwick used to drink in the Wynnstay in the 60s and he said he was of the family that used to brew there.
Fri Dec 8 08:48:16 2006
Philippa
I used to go to college next door to the brewery back in 1987 and I remember the lorries going to and fro. When us students used to have hangovers, the smell of the hops used to make us feel worse (our fault). It is a shame it has gone.
Mon Dec 4 14:11:46 2006
Rhys from Welshpool
Does any one remember from 1966 any of the fallowing employed by table waters border brewery (across from the leather works) kathy smith, cath jones, ziggy, ringo?
Mon Oct 16 09:47:18 2006
Steve Block
I arrived in the UK as a member of the U.S.A.F. to serve at the huge repair facility at Burtonwood, nr Warrington. This base had been used extensively by the US during World War 2, returned to the RAF after the war but once again changing hands back to the US during the Berlin Airlift to be used for repairing planes in that effort. I still remember the time when I discovered Wrexham and the surrounding villages. My pals and I were happy to experience this hide-away from the base and all its restrictions which we experienced whenever visiting the cities near the base. We stayed at the Plough Hotel in Gresford and used that as a base to foray into the great pubs of Wrexham. The publican was Capt. Arthur Stanley Roberts, a colourful character who had been born in Oswestry and then in the U.S. where he held a job with the vast Hearst newspaper chain as an illustrator. He was that talented to be offered a high-paying job by Lord Lever of Unilever. Ultimately he left that field to become a publican at the Plough. He once mentioned the bombing the village experienced during WW2 in which spectators came on the scene only to become casualties of a delayed action bomb. From what I understand the Plough was used as a temporary clinic for some of those wounded. I left the UK in 1951, returned at least a dozen times since to visit the Golden Lion, The Feathers, The Horseshoe, The Vaults, The Wynstay Hotel and many others too numerous to completely remember and list here. Strangers often expressed amazement that I loved the area having been born and raised in New York. But for some unknown reason whenever I did visit it was as if being resuscitated with pure oxygen. Much too old to return today but as the Dean Martin song says, "Memories are made of this..."
Fri Oct 6 10:27:49 2006
John Marshall
From a Wrexham boy who emigrated to the USA in 1949:
In 1943 I was working as a clerk at the Wrexham Lager Brewery for the princely sum of 22/6 per week. Employees were poorly paid, so some made it up by being 'on the fiddle'. Mr Jones, the General Manager, was so tight that he kept the one penny a piece office pencils locked up in his office. We had to go to him to ask for a new pencil when the one we had had worn out. After a while he got suspicious that we were coming to ask for new ones more often than we ought. (We were, and were taking them home) He then made it ! a rule that in order to get a new pencil we had to bring him the stub of the old one. This worked for Mr Jones fine until one of the smarter lads discovered that he was throwing the old stubs into his waste paper basket. Naturally, after he had left for the day, we raided his waste basket of all the old stubs and consequently, exchanged the the same old stub over and over again. Can you imagine the General Manager of any large company today using his executive time rationing out pencils?
Fri Sep 15 10:01:18 2006
Andreas Behlau from West Mid
I am sorry to see the brewery gone. I have fond memories of touring the grounds with friends and family I have in Germany. Twinned with my dad's home town.
Wed Sep 6 08:05:28 2006
Nick Edwards, Perth, Western Au
Me and my Bruvers are big Wrexham Larger fans. It is a great shame to see that it has been lost. Now we have to settle with visiting the local bowling club for a pint. A sad day.
Wed Aug 9 07:21:18 2006
Anne Williams, Perth, Western Australia
I, like TL Jones, also have memories of the smell of hops in the air. I remember my father taking me into town when I was only 7 years old shortly after moving to Wrexham from Gwythelwern. My first reaction was of total dislike to what I thought was an awful smell of the hops brewing. I also remember the Milk Bar across the road from Francis the Chemist, where Dad would buy me a Horlicks, while we waited for my Gran's perscription. My first job after leaving school was at that very chemist. My paternal grandmother was the first female publican according to my Gran, and she ran quite a number of the pubs in Wrexham in her time, round about the 1900s. I visited Wrexham about 5 years ago after a very long absence and I was looking forward to the nostalgia of walking through the streets I once knew, only to find so many changes that it wasn't the same place I grew up in. I looked for the old markets only to find them gone. The Hippodrome was boarded up. Bingo was being played in the Odeon. I was so disappointed. I'm told even more changes have taken place now. Thank heavens they haven't touched the Parish Church in the middle of the town.
Thu Aug 3 09:57:19 2006
Julian @ Hawarden
When we were younger we took advantage of the guided tour they used to have around Wrexham Lager. We'd have a walk around the plant and then a few sandwiches and as much lager as you could drink in about 40 minutes!! Happy days.
Mon Jul 31 09:38:14 2006
Andy Neal, Coedway
I am trying to get a copy of the 1982 booklet concerning the history of the Wrexham Lager Brewery. My particular interest is the 1898 letter concerning the finding of WLB bottles in the grounds of the palace at Khartoum following the (too late) relief of the town. Any help much appreciated.
Wed May 3 12:13:43 2006
Chris Allman Wrexham
Does anyone have any photographs of the Border breweries drays/vehicles? The period I am interested in is from the 1960s until end of trading in Wrexham.
Tue Feb 14 19:31:45 2006
james wrexham
what a shame
Tue Feb 14 15:18:33 2006
B. Owen, Wrexham
To Hilary Davies Ruabon. I have a little info on the Eagles Brewery. It was situated in Bridge Street, behind W Saunders in 1850. It joined Sun Brewery in 1874, and traded as Thompson Co. I hope this helps, I will try to find out more.
Thu Feb 9 09:42:32 2006
Mike Coley - Gloucestershire
I used to work in the quality control lab at Border Breweries for some 3 years from 1982 onwards. Fond memories of the place, some real characters worked there. Moved to Wrexham Larger when it was closed by Marsdens but I still had a gate key for a few years and used to have a walk around the deserted brewing building - real bit of the town history lost!
Sat Jan 28 11:31:41 2006
Ollie, Wrexham
It is a great shame that the powers that be could not prevent the closure of the brewery as it was not only a very good pint but also a large part of Wrexham's history, some would say as important as the coal pits and steelworks and where are they now? In the past wherever you went on holiday, Rhyl, Tenby or Blackpool, it was always nice to be able to proudly ask for a pint of Wrexham. The other great loss was the infamous "Brewery Tour" as someone who attended several of these for educational purposes only!! Memories of the tours have now been assigned to the file marked "Do you remember when?" Also in this file you will find tales of the Glynn, Majestic, Odeon and Hippodrome Cinemas, The Milk Bar, The Original Indoor Market, Aston's Furniture Store, Fairways Cafe Kings Street, The Beast Market, The Raglan Arms and the Horseshoe Public Houses, Crosville Green Double Decker Buses, Steven's Cafe and several High Street Banks now posing as modern drinking establishments. What's next The Racecourse? All a sad loss to this great town we live in!
Sun Oct 30 20:15:07 2005
S Griffiths born in Wrexham(1983)
My memories of Wrexham lager are still vivd, especially as the family used to drink it at xmas and parties. Shame I was too young to drink it at the time!. Studying at Plymouth Uni at the moment, hopefully I will be able to find some now I'm old enough and experience the true taste of Wrexham!
Tue Apr 12 16:09:21 2005
Lee Mytton
Dug a bottle up on a building site on Chester Road from Chadwicks Brewery, Wrexham. Can anybody help with any information about this brewery?
Tue Mar 29 11:17:03 2005
Hilary Davies, Ruabon
My is not so much a comment as a query, I have a bottle which has been dug up and its trademark is an Eagle, and it says it is from the Eagle Brewery Wrexham. Can anyone help me on this brewery's history?
Tue Mar 29 11:16:46 2005
Sylvia Williams nee Jones nee Huxley
My uncle Tom Roberts kept the Fairfield Tavern for many years. For a long time, he didn't have a spirits license, & had to sell beer (Border) & port or sherry. His wife, Lucy, worked at the Llangollen Hotel before she married. As a young girl, she thought she had to clean the barrels from which the beer was served. She almost got the sack for this,as "cobwebs" denoted the age of said barrels. My mother & 2 aunts worked at the bottling stores of Border Breweries, & I can still recall the calico aprons & clogs these girls had to wear. There was only one shop in Wrexham that made these clogs, it was towards the Beast Market area. Any pictures would be most welcome.
Tue Mar 29 11:16:27 2005
Mark Morgan Lloyd, Ruthin
Many times my mother and I walked or sat between the Border brewery and St Giles church. The brewery /never/ had an off day. The aroma was always wholesome and encouraging. Doctrine has it that there was a pipeline between the brewery and the Nag's Head.
Tue Mar 29 11:16:02 2005
Neil from Wrexham
Pity the councillors act without thinking. This is not the only landmark they have allowed the destruction of. Pity people forget before they vote!
Tue Mar 29 11:15:41 2005
John Finnigan, Liverpool
My first pint of Wrexham Lager was in the early 60s in the Horse and Jockey(thatched roof). I was visiting the town from Liverpool and became a keen drinker of this famous brew whenever or wherever I could find it. In 1997 I wrote to the brewery and they sent me a booklet (and beer mats) with the history of Wrexham Lager and the offer of a visit around the plant. Unfortunately, I was unable to take up this offer and now that the brewery is no more it is something I look back and think.....if only. My son tells me he bought a pint of Wrexham Lager in Towyn last year...is it back in business?
Tue Mar 29 11:03:19 2005
Jonathan Gammond of Wrexham Museum
As an incomer, I soon learned that Wrexham has a great brewing heritage and people have long been proud of this heritage. Together, Wrexham Lager and Wrexham Football Club put Wrexham on the world map. The lager was probably not the drink it was in its heyday by the time of its demise, but it is still sad that the brewery closed and the Phoenix did not rise from the ashes. We do have a few pieces of memorabilia from the Lager Brewery in the Museum, but the best way to explore a brewery's history is to drink a pint, a pint that you know has a living heritage behind it. Unfortunately, we can't offer that (well, not yet)!
Tue Mar 29 11:02:24 2005
Lloydy from London
I remember drinking Wrexham Lager as a young man growing up in Ruthin in the late eighties. It was, I remember, not the nicest of drinks, but no worse than a Fosters or Carlsberg. Is it still around? Can I get it in London? I'd drink it just for old times sake.
Tue Mar 29 11:01:54 2005
Steve Parry from Wrexham
This is just typical of the way Wrexham Council operates. They just rip out the heart of the town in the name of self serving progress and self interest. Wrexham used to be a pleasant market town, it's now become a 'high street clone' booze pit.
Tue Mar 29 11:01:28 2005
Dark Overlord from Wrecsam
Only in Wrexham could you get the situation where all the historical buildings are allowed to be demolished. It is a disgrace. Acton Hall, the Lager Brewery, etc, etc. What's next? Erddig? St Giles Church?
Tue Mar 29 11:00:30 2005
Rob Graesser from Edmonton, Canada
Very sorry to see the destruction of the brewery my great grandfather built. I'm glad my immediate family was able to see it before its destruction.
Tue Mar 29 10:59:46 2005
T L Jones from Wrexham
I have very vivid memories of brewing in the town of Wrexham. In 1942 I started as an apprentice at the Wrexham Electricity works as it was called in those days, this was in Willow Rd which was adjacent to the Border Brewery in the Mount St area. I went to work each day with the constant smell of hops in the air, not an unpleasant smell, and one could hear the wooden barrels being moved about and the dray horses pulling the heavily loaded drays to deliver beer to the local pubs. None of your fancy drinks then - good old fashioned beer. They used to employ a lot of girls whose working dress was clogs and calico aprons, who would joke with us young lads by chasing us as we went by their workplace, threatening to do all sorts of things to us if they caught us. Yes, I have very pleasant memories of brewing in Wrexham.
Tue Mar 29 10:59:28 2005
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