The closure of the Cape Hill Brewery of Mitchell's and Butler's in September 2002 marked the end of a brewing epoch for Birmingham. I was there on the last day and it was a sad sight to see the dormant vessels, empty sheds and people facing an uncertain future. Although Cape Hill was located just outside the city boundary, making it officially a Staffordshire brewery belonging to Smethwick, the company merged with William Butler's brewery behind the Crown Inn on Broad Street. And, of course, most Brummies do think of M&B as a Birmingham trademark running most of the lion's share of their local public houses. Their estate in and around Birmingham increased significantly with the acquisition of two large breweries in Aston; firstly, Holder's in 1919 and, later, Atkinson's some forty years later. Consequently, although the brewery was technically in Staffordshire, you'd be hard pressed to convince Birmingham folks that this firm wasn't a great source of pride to them. Best thing to do is sit on the fence or go with the flow.

Trading for more than a century, Mitchell's and Butler's rose to become one of the region's largest breweries. The company was founded in 1898 following the merger of Henry Mitchell & Co. Ltd. and Butler's Crown Brewery Ltd. In tracing the history of the company, one has to look back to both of these concerns when they were trading independently and, in particular, to the lives of the founders Henry Mitchell and William Butler.

Born on November 9th 1837, Henry Mitchell hailed from Worcester. His father, also Henry, had moved from his birthplace of Bromyard to serve an apprenticeship as a glove-maker. However, Henry senior entered the building trade and moved to the north of the county finding work in Stourbridge. It was here that he probably met his second wife Ruth who hailed from Oldswinford. The couple moved to West Bromwich and, by 1851, along with Henry Junior, were living in Lyng Lane. Henry Mitchell was recorded as a contractor and beer seller, the latter trade presumably being conducted from the premises in what was then called Ling Lane. More certainly, the family moved a short distance to the Oddfellows' Arms in Hall Street.

Henry and Ruth Mitchell enjoyed the trade and by 1852 opted to move to the larger Cape Inn located at Spon Lane. This pub was located close to Chance's Glassworks. Henry Mitchell's homebrewed ales proved popular with those working in the glass trade. Buoyed by their success, the Mitchell's moved to the Crown Inn on the Oldbury to Smethwick turnpike road.

Henry Mitchell was recorded as the licensee of the Cape Inn during 1854. In the census, conducted seven years later, 50 year-old Henry Mitchell was recorded as the innkeeper though he was soon to take early retirement and move to a house in Saint Paul's Road. Interestingly, he employed a local man called Joseph Parker who worked as both ostler and brewer. This leads to speculation on who exactly was brewing the beer sold at the Crown Inn.

Later in 1861 Henry Mitchell Junior succeeded his father. When the business was transferred it was valued at £510.0s.0d. and the property's description included a "Kitchen, Jack Crane and Meat Jack, Tap Room, Kitchen, Bar of Liquor Shop, Malt Room, Two Attics, Club Room at the front of the house, Sign, Long Water Trough, Lamp, Four Cellars.”

Employing a brewer may have facilitated a smooth transition of the business, but it also benefited the skills base of Henry Mitchell Junior. At this time the majority of homebrew houses were producing beers that varied considerably from brew to brew, due in part to the lack of training, cleanliness, poor quality malt, hops and contaminated water. Employing a brewer was a practical consideration, for the publican was generally overstretched in terms of working hours. Moreover, the introduction of a skilled professional brought brewing expertise to the premises and consequently the beers produced had a level of consistency and quality. The beer for which Henry Mitchell gained local fame was Light Mild Ale and the Crown Inn was became a well patronised public house.

Henry Mitchell realised he was onto a winner and that the Light Mild Ale could be sold to other public houses in the area and, as such, he was elevated to the status of common brewer. It was as a common brewer that Henry Mitchell made a name for himself in the 1860's. His beers proved highly popular and in 1866 he erected a small brewery next to the Crown Inn. However, increased demand soon resulted in his small brewery being worked around the clock in an attempt to cope with orders. By 1871 Henry Mitchell was employing 12 men whilst remaining at the helm of the Crown Inn with his locally-born wife Anne. By this time the couple had four young children: Henry, Edward, Laura and Herbert.

With his brewing plant creaking under the pressure, Henry Mitchell decided to build a larger brewery at Cape Hill on land belonging to Fawdry's Farm located on Dudley Road. The farmhouse was across the border in Winson Green but the seven acre site that Henry Mitchell acquired early in 1877 was on the Smethwick side of the stream. In March 1877 an artesian well was sunk and work started on the construction of a new brewery. The first brew at Mitchell's Cape Hill Brewery took place in July 1879. Overseeing construction with an almost fanatical attention to detail, Henry Mitchell retained the Crown name and used the Crown logo on business stationery and as a trademark.

At this point, I'll turn my attention to the 'B' in M&B. Born on March 13th 1843, William Butler's career path was somewhat different to that of Henry Mitchell. At the age of 16 he moved from his Leicestershire home in Hinckley to work in Birmingham.

The story goes that he walked all the way with just ½d in his pocket. His first job was as a hairdresser's assistant in St. Martin's Place, a job he retained when living in Broad Street with the elderly Thomas Beckett and Phoebe Sillitoe who had premises close to the bustling Crown Inn on Broad Street, an important public house in 19th century Birmingham. It was here that William Butler supplemented his income by taking an evening job as a barman.

William Butler was wise with his earnings and by 1866 had accumulated enough to acquire the London Works Tavern in Smethwick. This was also a homebrew pub and for a period William Butler was, like Henry Mitchell, serving beers to thirsty factory workers in Smethwick. He formed a partnership with his brother-in-law and in 1875 was back at the Crown Inn on Broad Street. Like Henry Mitchell, William Butler was overseeing beer production behind the Crown Inn and these proved so popular he became a common brewer, selling his ales to other pubs in Birmingham. He also became a publican of some notoriety and his convivial manner resulted in a busy pub, filled with customers enjoying the Leicestershire man's hospitality.

William Butler soon had to build a brewery to meet the increased demand for his beers. The impressive tower brewery was erected behind the Crown Inn and survived until relatively recent times as one of Birmingham's brewing landmarks. The plant was capable of brewing 5,000 barrels a week. The two companies advanced from selling ales in other pubs to developing their own estate of tied houses. An early strategy was to provide loans to local publicans, thus tying them to their product. This ensured that they had outlets for their beer. Henry Mitchell's personal ledger for 1880-5 records the interest received on money loaned to the licensees of 25 public houses including the Queen's Head in Bishop Street, the Old Crown Inn at Great Charles Street and the Small Heath Bar on Coventry Road. Britain was changing rapidly in the late Victorian period, particularly with innovations in transport. Breweries from other parts of Great Britain, and in particular those of Burton-on-Trent, suddenly started to view other towns and cities as potential areas of expansion. Regional brewers were forced to respond by developing their own pub estates. Changes in legislation had reduced the number of public houses in Birmingham and the surrounding area and the values of those remaining started to increase sharply in the 1880's and 1890's.

A major obstacle for brewers was raising the large sums of capital required to expand their estates. Henry Mitchell went into partnership with Herbert G. Bainbridge and the business was incorporated as a private company in 1888. Butler's Crown Brewery was registered in January 1895. Guinness was the company who initiated the rush for generating capital. In 1886 they raised £6 million when they became the first brewery to float on the stock exchange. Their strategy was so successful it inevitably led to a rush of other companies with a fervent desire to raise capital. Subsequent brewery flotations between 1886 and 1889 raised £185 million. The capital raised was used to buy the freehold or long term leases on existing public houses. The stampede for property led to a dramatic increase in prices that subsequently fuelled a tied-house war.

One of the most economical methods of buying public houses was to acquire the brewery operating them. Birmingham's emerging large breweries initially started buying out the publican brewers who were struggling to compete with the economies of scale that the bigger companies could deploy. In addition, an economic depression in the 1870's forced many publicans to sell up. In Birmingham, the Holt Brewery Company were at the forefront of this movement - no doubt helped by the fact that Henry Fulford, a large shareholder, was a member of the Town Council for Nechells and Chairman of the Markets and Fairs Committee.

Butler's Crown Brewery were second and third in the pecking order was Ansell and Son. As the race for tied houses developed, breweries began taking over their competitors. Henry Mitchell and William Butler made the decision to merge their companies to both consolidate their businesses and also to protect themselves from a predatory takeover bid from another brewery. The Cape Hill site, expanded by more than double the original size, offered much more potential in terms of expansion and enjoyed a good pure water supply from its artesian well. It was decided to transfer the Crown Brewery on Broad Street and concentrate all beer production at Smethwick.

Within two years of the merger, the sixteen acre site of the Cape Hill Brewery had been extended to sixty acres. By 1914 this would be further extended to ninety acres and the company employed more than a thousand people. By this time, increased capacity was achieved with the construction of the No.2 Brewery. Built between 1912 and 1914, the new brewery was capable of producing 30,000 barrels a week. Meanwhile the company developed an aggressive stance with the other Birmingham brewers and started to takeover other companies in a bid to increase market share and further develop their estate of public houses. In 1899 Mitchell's and Butler's acquired Alfred Homer's Vulcan Brewery. A year later they bought James Evans' Brewery at Perry Barr. In 1913 they took control of local rivals Cheshire's Brewery Ltd, who operated the Windmill Brewery in Windmill Lane. In 1919 Holder's Brewery of Aston was acquired and, as was the case of such strategic manoeuvres, the breweries were closed at a later date.

The founders of the company didn't live to witness the latter takeovers but the transactions followed the same business principles on which they laid the foundations of the company. Both men were posthumously honoured in the publication 'Fifty Years of Brewing' a book issued by the company to celebrate the jubilee of production at Cape Hill in 1929. The book describes Henry Mitchell as "spare and ascetic in figure, and keen and searching of eye, sparing neither himself nor others, provident of the future of the Brewing Industry, and intent that Cape Hill should always be well equipped for any emergency and for any decisive stroke of policy that might be required either by the natural development of the industry or by the increasing and often capricious pressure from new licensing laws or rising taxation. He enjoyed the signal honour of being made the first Freeman of the County Borough of Smethwick in June 1902, and died in 1914 at the age of 77."

In the same publication it stated that William Butler was "built on other lines. He incorporated in his own person the geniality, bonhomie and good fellowship which are traditionally associated rather with the business of an inn than with that of the brewery. Expansive, warm hearted, and never happier than when diffusing happiness, he enjoyed immense popularity. These qualities, well adapted to find large and generous expression in many circles of business and social activity, were combined with sound business acumen and an unvarying fidelity to the two principles which had been the foundation of his early success in Broad Street as they were of the company with which he was in later years associated. The two principles were these - always to brew the best beer from the best materials procurable and always to go on improving the licensed houses under the firm's control. William Butler died in on August 24th 1907." These tributes are naturally ambiguous when brushing over the ruthless nature of the company during the late Victorian and early Edwardian periods. The Board of Directors continued to be represented by members of the Mitchell and Butler families. In 1929, the Chairman was Sir William Water Butler, son of William Butler and the co-Managing Directors were Arthur Mitchell [Vice Chairman], Sir John E. Mitchell O.B.E. [Secretary], Henry A. Butler, sons of the Founders, and W. Owen Butler and Robert H. Butler, grandsons of the Founders.

'Fifty Years of Brewing' added that Sir William Waters Butler had "filled the highest offices in the National Associations of the Brewing Industry and is a stalwart defender of the Trade against the ignorant prejudices and inveterate hostility of its organised and often none too scrupulous opponents."  These 'opponents' were great in number during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The divide between the brewers and the authorities was largely initiated by the 1869 Wine and Beerhouse Act. This was designed to restrict the number of licensed premises, and in particular beer houses, by restoring the power of local magistrates. The Act succeeded in suppressing the vast number of licensed premises in Birmingham. This was followed by one Act after another - all designed to curb the scourge of the nation - drink. In fairness, one only has to look at the old newspapers of Birmingham to see how much crime in the Victorian period was drink-related. However, the authorities of Birmingham became quite tyrannical in exacting legislation upon the city's 2,000+ public houses. A key strategy of the bench was to become known throughout the country as the Birmingham Scheme. This became a blueprint for many other towns and cities throughout Britain. The magistrates would grant new licences to the pubs built in the burgeoning suburbs only at the expense of several licences in the inner city. The response of the brewers was to increase the size of their premises in the central area. Birmingham magistrates were more than happy with this policy - Victorian values created a motive among the municipal-minded to improve the condition of the city's drinking houses and they saw "bigger but fewer" pubs as a positive step forward.

Most of Birmingham's brewers commissioned local architects to design striking new buildings to replace many of their old inns. Mitchell's and Butler's were responsible for some of Birmingham's great building treasures such as The Marlborough in Sparkbrook, The Woodman on Easy Row, The Barton's Arms in Aston Newtown and the Red Lion at King's Heath. The flipside of the Birmingham Scheme was the forced surrender of licences that made the public house the battleground between the brewer and the magistrates, many of whom supported the temperance movement. Between 1904 and 1914 a thousand licenses disappeared in Birmingham. Mitchell's and Butler's are thought to have colluded with the authorities to protect their future interests. The company, like its contemporaries, began to 'improve' and build pubs to the requirements of the magistrates. This was to completely change the way public houses were designed and operated. Mitchell's and Butler's created what they called a new generation of pubs following World War One. These included flagship outlets such as The Traveller's Rest at Northfield, The Stockland Inn at Erdington and The Antelope at Sparkhill.

I have enjoyed access to some of the company's archive material dating from 1914 to 1918. Reading through the company's Record of Issued Circular's tells much of the story of the licensed trade in Birmingham during World War One. A draft circular dated August 26th 1914 stated that "the Directors are desirous of informing all employees that they are still prepared to make up to Volunteers for National Service their standard weekly wage during the War as they are now doing to employees who are with the colours, but they cannot undertake to make allowances to those who may under a ballot or other measures for National Service be compelled to service." This must have put considerable pressure on men to volunteer, as they were naturally concerned with adequate provision for their families. Four days later the company sent out a letter to all managed public houses and departments stating that "when engaging new men, we wish to employ as far as possible during the war, only married men of not less than 35 years of age, telling them of the above conditions and that the appointment must be regarded rather as a temporary than a permanent one, because we have promised our employees who are at present with the forces re-employment after the war on their return."

In September 1914 Mitchell's and Butler's sent a letter to all their public houses urging tenants and managers to discourage drinking by recipients of relief whose husband's were in service. The publicans were advised to encourage moderation and thrift to add to their happiness and domestic comfort. The real agenda however was to demonstrate that they were upholding the highest traditions of the trade. In fact, just four days after war had been declared the government passed the first of the Defence of the Realm [DORA] Acts where it became an offence to treat a soldier or sailor, 'with intent to make him drunk'. Mitchell's and Butler's issued official posters to remind publicans and consumer of this Act [see above left] which details the severe punishments for those convicted of treating. The government followed this on August 31st with the Intoxicating Liquor [Temporary Restrictions] Act giving magistrates - upon Police recommendation - the power to restrict or repress particular public houses. This was a dream come true for some members of the bench who had wanted to place such restrictions on Birmingham's pubs. 10pm closing was universally imposed on October 19th 1914. Despite the prevalent patriotic spirit among the public, the Temporary Restriction Act was considered an infringement of personal liberty and was vilified in certain quarters.

The next legislation to affect the brewers and drinking public was the War Duty on Beer. On November 18th 1914 beer duty per barrel rose from 7s 9d to 23/-. Mitchell's and Butler's sent out a memorandum to all tenants and managers instructing them to increase the price of beer from Monday 23rd November. The increases were as follows: Draught Ales and Stouts: ½d on Glasses and Half Pints, 1d on Pints, 2d on Quarts. Bottled Ales and Stouts: ½d on Small Bottles, 1d on Large and Magnum, 6d per dozen Small Bottles and 1/- per dozen on Large and Magnum. The Chancellor of the Exchequer was hardly likely to reduce such revenue in the future and Britain's drinkers never saw the pre-war prices again. The next measure introduced by Mitchell's and Butler's was to abolish the 'Long Pull' throughout Birmingham. This was always a matter of concern for the bench but the company gained too - the loser of course was once again the customer. The letter [below left] sent out to publicans on this matter shows that the brewery actively encouraged licensees to report on each other!  Further limitations on opening hours were imposed on March 26th 1915. Pubs were not allowed to open before 10.30am, which caused an uproar in the Markets Area of St. Martin's. The main reason given for the increased restrictions was that workmen were being found in pubs when they should have been at work. Publicans were told not to allow workers to 'idle' away their hours and also to report any other pub they saw not adhering to the new opening hours. Talk about 1984 and Big Brother - try 1915!  The letter sent out to publicans informing them of the new opening hours can be seen below right.

Three days later Lloyd-George, then Chancellor of the Exchequer made his famous declaration that "Drink is doing more damage in the war than all the German submarines put together...We are fighting Germany, Austria and Drink, and the greatest of all these deadly foes is Drink." In May 1915 Brigadier General C. R. Townley, Commander of No.7 District, ordered the distribution of posters reminding publicans of their duty to not serve members of His Majesty's Forces - except between 12noon and 8.30pm. So, it would seem it was OK to get drunk during the day!! A memo dated October 1915 extended the restrictions but only to Naval Military Forces. The notice ordered that they must not be served except between 12.30pm and 2pm. Only the lunchtime session was, it appears, available to matlo's.

The next problem for government and local authorities was how to tackle the drunken state of munitions workers on whom they depended for the continued supply to France. The trouble with the workers was that they were earning more money than ever before. Interest in the war in the early months was minimal and with little to do but drink that's exactly what they did. The Defence of the Realm Act No.3 was passed on May 19th 1915 further restricting the hours that public houses were allowed to open. The new hours for the Midlands Munitions Area were as follows: 11.30am to 2pm and 6.30pm to 9.30pm. The biggest losers were women who traditionally enjoyed a mid-morning tipple because they could visit the pub without being noticed by their menfolk. The Central Control Board also restricted off sales [I have place this "Outdoor Trade" item above] by looking at their poster. This even restricted sales on Saturdays and Sundays. This was designed to reduce the traditional Monday absenteeism. The restrictions were relaxed for the Christmas period of 1915. Mitchell's and Butler's produced their own poster to advertise the fact that customers could buy from the outdoor throughout the day between the 20th and 24th December.

The price of beer and spirits continued to rise throughout the war. Publicans of M&B houses seemed to be constantly receiving updated price lists to display in their houses. Two key factors contributed to the price increases of beer. Firstly, the beer duty levied by the Chancellor of the Exchequer was constantly revised - upwards!  Secondly, restricted opening hours resulted in less production and the unit cost rose accordingly. In 1916 the affects of German submarines were felt throughout the brewing industry as imported barley became a scarce commodity. The government reacted by passing the Output of Beer [Restriction] Act in April 1916 that reduced the output nationally by four million barrels. It was also decreed that beer strengths should be reduced. Mitchell's and Butler's counteracted the orders of the Food Controller by producing a special war-time beer. By the end of the war standard beer was a full 16° lower in OG than it had been at the turn of the century. It was also four times as expensive at the counter. It was not until 1921 that the Central Control Board was abolished under a Licensing Act. Pubs were allowed to open eight hours a day but not during the afternoon. This regime stayed in place until August 1st 1988 when all-day opening was finally restored.

A normal state of affairs was restored after the war in that Mitchell's and Butler's continued to develop the Cape Hill site, expanded their estate of pubs into the suburbs and the surrounding counties; in the process they closed down a few competing breweries. One interesting document I found delving into the archive material was a programme for an evening in 1938 when employees of the company who had served for 25 and 40 years were presented with Long Service Certificates. I have reproduced the programme [below] which will be of interest to anyone who worked for Mitchell's and Butler's in this period or perhaps to relatives of the employees.

Mitchell's and Butler's acquired Walsall's Highgate Brewery and its estate of 39 pubs in August 1939. The company moved into new territories after the Second World War. For example, they bought Thatcher's Brewery of Newport, Monmouthshire in 1950 and in the following year acquired Darby's Brewery, a company based at Greets Green in West Bromwich. Atkinson's Brewery of Aston was swallowed up in 1959, followed by the merger/takeover of William Butler's Springfield Brewery in Wolverhampton. This latter manoeuvre had a real impact in the markets of the Black Country, Staffordshire and parts of Shropshire.

Mergers and takeovers once more reached epidemic proportions in the late 1950's and early 1960's. Bass, Radcliff and Gretton Ltd. of Burton-on-Trent merged with Mitchell's and Butler's in 1961 to form Bass, Mitchell's and Butler's Ltd. The name of Mitchell's and Butler's was slowly ingested into the Bass Charrington empire and its beers started to be produced in other parts of the country. It's all rather sad for those who have fond memories of working at Cape Hill Brewery. The site had a great deal of sporting, leisure and social facilities that helped to foster a genuine team spirit and sense of belonging. Photographs and stories of the brewery are featured in other sections of my M&B pages. For example, the Deerstalker Magazine is packed with information on the company and the people who worked at Cape Hill.