Cheltenham-Original-Brewery Ltd.
The story of this company can be traced back to 1760 when the Gardner family starting brewing in Cheltenham. In April 1888 the Cheltenham Original Brewery was registered to acquire the business of Sir James T. Agg-Gardner. Although a Member of Parliament, he still had control of the brewery that was managed by G.P.Hopcroft. The company's name changed to the Cheltenham and Hereford Breweries in 1945 following the acquisition of the Hereford and Tredegar Brewery Ltd. The company, trading as Cheltenham Brewery Holdings Ltd., merged with the Stroud Brewery in 1958 to form West Country Breweries Ltd. The brewery, along with a tied estate of almost 1,300 public houses was acquired by Whitbread's in 1963.
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Cirencester-Brewery Ltd.
This brewery was trading at the Bell Inn during the late 18th century. A trade directory published in 1820 records the brewery as Croome, Cripps and Company at Cricklade Street. As can be seen by this trade directory extract from 1856 the company was trading as Cripps, Mullings, Demainbray & Co. Only a few years earlier the trading name was Cripps, Byrch, Mullings & Cripps. Born in Cirencester around 1807, Frederick Cripps was a brewer, banker and magistrate. His brother George also worked in the banking sector. The family were seemingly in control of the brewery when it was later trading as the Cirencester Brewery Company. Having worked his way up the ladder, Thomas Matthews was appointed as brewery manager and the firm acquired a local rival, the Cotswold Brewery, along with a small estate of public houses. Thomas Matthews managed the company for many years before handing over to his son Ernest who remained until 1935. The Cripps family were still actively involved in the company. Son of Edmund Cripps, Frederick William Cripps was chairman and managing director. His son Philip trained at other breweries until he joined the firm in 1928. The company, along with a tied estate of 92 public houses, was acquired by H. & G. Simonds of Reading in 1937. The Cirencester Brewery was inevitably closed. Much of the brewery complex has been demolished though some elements have survived. Part of the buildings were used by a sheet metal firm before the Cotswold District Council acquired the site for proposed demolition. A local campaign group put forward proposals to save part of the old brewery and, following extensive restoration work, Cirencester Arts Workshops opened in 1979.

Godsell & Sons Ltd.
This Stroud brewery can be traced back to the mid-19th century when the Marling family leased Salmon's Mill to the brewer and maltster Thomas Godsell. The mill was recorded in the mid-15th century and part of the buildings remain today. When the site was devoted the production of beer, it became known as the Salmon Springs Brewery. Thomas Godsell's sons joined the firm in the mid-1870's. The business prospered and enjoyed considerable expansion. The Stroud Brewery took over the enterprise in 1928. Six years later new owners demolished the brewery and mill. The company erected a bottling plant and used part of the site as stores. Some malting was conducted on the site up until the 1960's but this was stopped by Whitbread's when they acquired the Stroud Brewery. Featuring the Godsell trade mark in stone, the maltings have survived and now serve other industrial uses.

Stroud-Brewery Co.Ltd.
Later based in Stroud's Rowcroft, this brewery was founded in the mid-18th century by Peter Leversage. He went into partnership to develop a firm trading as Leversage, Grazebrook and Burgh. However, the partnership fell apart in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and the brewery continued under a new business partnership with Joseph Watts, a businessman and local politician who later became the sole proprietor. Following his death in October 1855, he bequeathed the brewery to his grandson Joseph Watts Hallewell. In order to develop the business, he formed a partnership and the brewery traded as Watts Hallewell, Biddell and Stanton. The company was registered in 1888 and, by the time it merged with the Cheltenham and Hereford Breweries, a tied estate of 643 tied houses were being supplied. When Whitbread's acquired the combined companies in 1963, the Stroud Brewery was demoted to a supply depot until it was demolished in 1970.
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“Fermentation may have been a greater discovery than fire.”
David Rains Wallace
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