Records of Drybrough & Co Ltd, brewers, Edinburgh, Scotland

Scope and Content

  • Memorandum and articles of association, 1951;
  • Certificate of incorporation, 1895;
  • Annual reports and accounts to shareholders, 1896-1944;
  • Shareholding records, 1895-1936;
  • Letterbooks, 1895-1936;
  • Financial records, 1781-1966;
  • Production records, 1796-1985;
  • Sales records, 1883-1970;
  • Salaries and wages records, 1912-1961;
  • Pensions and life assurance records, 1965;
  • Staff housing records, 1893-1901;
  • Appointment letter, 1954;
  • Licensed premises records, 1885-1965;
  • Promotional material, 1919-1986;
  • Public Relations records, 1960-1975;
  • Family papers, 1795-1797;
  • Photographs, 1880s-1970s;
  • Historical notes, 1975-1987.

Administrative / Biographical History

Andrew Drybrough ,  brewer  and  baxter (baker)  , was brewing in  Edinburgh, Scotland , prior to 1750. He was succeeded by  James Drybrough who brewed in  Tolbooth Wynd , moving to the south side of the  North Back of Canongate (now Calton Road) , in 1782 and traded as  Andrew Drybrough & Co .

The firm expanded into Craigend Brewery, on the north side of the North Back of Canongate, in 1874 and moved to a green-field site at  Craigmillar , to the south east of Edinburgh, in 1892.  Drybrough & Co Ltd was registered in December 1895 as a limited liability company to acquire the business. The company sold its beer locally in the south and west of Scotland and the north-east of England. It also supplied beer to  Alnwick Brewery Co Ltd ,  Alnwick, Northumberland, England , from 1963 and  Ballingall & Co Ltd ,  Dundee, Tayside , from 1964.

The company was acquired by  Watney Mann Ltd , brewers,  London, England , in 1965 and took over the licensed houses of Ballingall & Co Ltd,  Dundee, Tayside, Scotland , in 1968;  A H Higginbottom & Co ,  Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne & Wear, England , and  Neesham & Co ,  Ushaw Moor, Durham, England , in 1969;  Beverley & Co Ltd ,  Halifax, West Yorkshire, England , in 1969; and Alnwick Brewery Co Ltd,  Alnwick, Northumberland, England , in 1978. The company, along with 187 licensed houses, was sold by  Watney, Mann & Truman Breweries Ltd to  Allied-Lyons plc , on behalf of  Alloa Brewery Co Ltd , Alloa, Scotland, for GBP 40.5 million on 8 January 1987 . The Craigmillar Brewery ceased brewing on 23 January 1987 .

Source: Richmond, Lesley and Turton, Alison (eds). The Brewing Industry. A Guide to Historical Records ( Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 1990 )

Arrangement

The material is arranged according to the Scottish Brewing Archive classification scheme used within all SBA collections.

Access Information

Open

Acquisition Information

Carlsberg-Tetley Scotland and former employees

Other Finding Aids

File level list available in searchroom

Alternative Form Available

No known copies

Conditions Governing Use

Applications for permission to quote should be sent to the Archivist

Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use & condition of documents

Appraisal Information

This material has been appraised in line with standard GB 0248 procedures

Custodial History

The collection was previously stored with the rest of the Scottish Brewing Archive at Heriot-Watt University. It moved to the University of Glasgow in 1991. More material was collected at the Scottish Brewing Archive at the University of Glasgow. Custody of the Scottish Brewing Archive was transferred to Glasgow University Archive Services in 2008.

Accruals

More expected from former employees

Related Material

GB 0248 BL: Records of Ballingall & Son Ltd

GB 0248 CHK: Records of Archibald Campbell, Hope & King Ltd

GB 0248 ARTEFACTS: Scottish Brewing Archive Artefacts Collection

Bibliography

McMaster, Charles . Drybrough & Co Ltd. Craigmillar Brewery, Edinburgh, 16. Scottish Brewing Archive Newsletter , No 9 (Summer 1987)

Additional Information

This material is original

Fonds level description compiled by Natalie Milne, Archive Assistant (Hub), October 31 2001. Catalogue converted to Encoded Archival Description, 8 June 2005. Catalogue revised by Wiebke Redlich, Archive Assistant (Hub), 16 January 2002; Emma Yan, Assistant Archivist, 05 December 2008; Michelle Kaye, Archives Assistant, 10 May 2012; and Sam Maddra, Assistant Archivist (cataloguing) 3 Feb 2014.

Geographical Names