R.F.Case & Co.Ltd.
The production base for this company was located at the Cavendish Brewery in Barrow-in-Furness. The company was founded in 1860 in King Street at Ulverston but had moved to Barrow-in-Furness by the middle of the decade. The company had developed an estate of 60 public houses by the time it was acquired by Hammond's United Breweries in 1959. Brewing at the Cavendish Brewery did continue throughout the 1960's but finally closed in 1972.
© Copyright. Beer label images from Digital Photographic Images

Jennings Brothers Ltd
The first Jennings ale I tasted was a pint of Cocker Hoop at the Great British Beer Festival a few years ago. It was so good me and my partner Emma recruited some friends for a pilgrimage to Cockermouth where we had a brilliant weekend touring the brewery and trying their beers in the town's pubs. No matter how our taste buds change in the future [and they always do] Jennings will have a special place in our hearts. Jennings have been brewing traditional beers for 160 years, and still use the same traditional methods that were used by their founder as long ago as 1828, in the village of Lorton. In fact, some oral traditions claim the original brewery in Lorton was either at Scales or High Swinside. Certainly John Jennings (Snr) lived and farmed at Scales. He also bought High Swinside in 1845, but more probably the brewery first operated in buildings near to the present Lorton Village Hall which was originally built as a malthouse. John's son, John Jennings Junior (1813-1889) was certainly involved in his father's business, but by 1851 John Junior's business was described in the census as thread manufacturer. The business had outgrown its homebrewed origins in Lorton and there was a need for a larger maltings and a building to house larger fermenting vessels. The nearest market town, Cockermouth, was the ideal base for expansion as it had a larger population with more opportunities to sell beer. Additionally, and just as important, the Castle Brewery site had an abundant supply of pure well water which has been used by the Castle as long ago as Norman times. Between the move to Cockermouth in 1874 and 1881, both sites at Lorton and Cockermouth operated under one proprietorship. However, in 1881, control was divided with John Jennings Junior's three sons assuming control of the Cockermouth site. Joseph Henry Jennings (1852-1916) was Chairman and John Brown Jennings (1856-1896) was Vice Chairman. In 1887 the brothers converted the concern into a limited company.

At that time the business consisted of three maltings and sixteen licensed outlets. Many acquisitions of small breweries and public houses were made over the ensuing years. Four West Cumberland breweries were acquired in 1921 and Faulders Brewery of Keswick in 1926 including a number of public houses. There no longer exists any Jennings connection with the business but until 2005 the Company was a Public Limited Company quoted on the Stock Exchange with much of the shares held by local people and Directors. Despite opposition from CAMRA, Jennings was acquired by Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries in June 2005. Stephen Oliver, Managing Director for The Union Pub Company (W&DB's tenanted and leased arm) praised Jennings' staff for their positive approach and support throughout the process. He announced that "the Jennings estate of 131 leased and tenanted pubs is a outstanding geographical fit for us. We have made an important commitment to keeping the Cockermouth brewery open. He added that "the acquisition represented a great opportunity to develop Jennings' beers in Cumbria and the North West as well as through W&DB's existing estate."
© Copyright. Images supplied by Digital Photographic Images and Jennings Brewery and
reproduced with kind permission.

“He knew a path that wanted walking; He knew a spring that wanted drinking;
A thought that wanted further thinking.”
Robert Frost
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