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origins of this brewery can be traced back to the late 18th century when
Nathaniel Purchas was operating a brewing enterprise in Fownhope. He
formed a partnership with Robert Whittesley and, together they brewed
ales and imported spirits that were brought up from Bristol via the
Severn Estuary and the River Wye. Following the death of Nathaniel
Purchas in 1817, son William formed a partnership with John and William
Reynolds to continue the business. William Purchas later relinquished
his interest in the Fownhope Brewery and, in 1834, John Reynolds
relocated the business to a new purpose-built site in Hereford's Bewell
Street. By the end of the decade the Hereford Brewery was trading as
Reynolds and Wase. However, the enterprise failed and an auction sale of
the brewery was held at the Green Dragon in October 1842. The buyer was
Charles Watkins, former publican of the Three Crowns in Eign Street who
had taken over at the Imperial Vaults in Widemarsh Street. Indeed,
Charles Watkins produced the homebrewed ales for the Imperial Vaults but
the acquisition of a large brewery enabled him to start large capacity
production. He changed the name of the Hereford Brewery to the Imperial
Brewery. In fact, the first beers were called Imperial Household and
Pale Ales. Mild and bitter ales were added to the range before the
company won gold medals at the 1886 International Exhibition for the
acclaimed Golden Sunlight Pale Ale. Charles Watkins adopted vertical
integration policies and started farming the raw ingredients required
for the brewery which was expanded and enlarged. Of course, he also
developed an estate of public houses in which to sell the popular ales.
Following the death of both Charles Watkins and his son and partner
Henry in 1889, management of the brewery fell to Henry Hull and the name
reverted to the Hereford Brewery. Two surviving sons of Charles Watkins
sold the company in 1898. The Tredegar Brewery paid £64,000 for the
brewery and tied estate of public houses. Based in Church Street, the
Tredegar Brewery was owned by J.T.Jenkins & Co. and, following a merger
with the Hereford-based George Edwards, the whole business was renamed
the Hereford and Tredegar Brewery Ltd. when registered in 1899. The
Imperial name re-appeared in the Edwardian period when the Hereford and
Tredegar Brewery closed their plants in Brecon and Tredegar and
concentrated all production at the Sunlight Brewery in Bewell Street,
re-naming it the Imperial Brewery and reviving the Imperial beer brands.
The company was acquired in 1945 by the
Cheltenham Original Brewery Ltd., a company later known as the Cheltenham and Hereford Breweries
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