I've been working down Silvester Street, Hull for the part 12 years in Anchor House and have always wondered about it's history. Unfortunately my company has announced it's closure and this will probably be the last time I walk down this quaint street for some time.
Based in Anchor House, we have definitely all felt some kind of presence in this building at some time or another, be it on the top floor, the car park or even the toilets! We like to call our ghost "Fred" and people have seen figures, smelled cigar smoke and heard whispering in their ears.
It's not surprising knowing how much history there is, and that's what I'd like to talk about today.
John Firbank and Thomas Ward built the original brewery on the corner of Posterngate and Dagger Lane in 1782. Thomas Ward's granddaughters, Mary and Ann, inherited the brewery, and Mary married a shipbuilder, Robert Gleadow in 1796. Their son, Robert Ward Gleadow, continued the brewing business until 1846 when he went into partnership with another brewer, William Thomas Dibb, to form Gleadow, Dibb and Co.
Gleadow died in 1857 and was succeeded by his son, Henry Cooper Gleadow. Gleadow, Dibb and Co. became a limited company in 1885.
The Maltings, was a new development on the site of the Anchor Brewery. The bridge (visible behind "The Maltings" sign) connected two of the brewery buildings and still stands to this day.
In 1866 Gleadow, Dibb and Co. started work on a new, purpose-built brewery in Silvester Street and the company moved to the new premises in 1868.
In 1887 Gleadow, Dibb and Co. Ltd. was wound up, and a new company, "The Hull Brewery Company Limited", was formed. The company embarked on a period of increased expansion, acquiring other brewers and bottlers, purchasing licensed houses and enlarging the Silvester Street site. By 1890 they were recorded as owning 160 licensed houses. Trade dropped off during the First World War, but by 1919 the company was able to buy two more local breweries along with their public houses. In 1925 it acquired Sutton, Bean and Company, a Lincolnshire brewery. Beer was transported by barge across the Humber.
World War II led to another drop in trade, and many of the company's properties were damaged or destroyed during the Hull Blitz. The Silvester Street brewery, however, remained intact, possibly because the German bomber pilots used its chimneys as a landmark.
In 1949 the company began producing "Anchor Export", a strong beer, designed to keep and travel well so that it could be taken aboard ships as part of their provisions. It was sold in bottles and cans.
The Maltings, was a new development on the site of the Anchor Brewery. The bridge (visible behind "The Maltings" sign) connected two of the brewery buildings and still stands to this day.
In 1866 Gleadow, Dibb and Co. started work on a new, purpose-built brewery in Silvester Street and the company moved to the new premises in 1868.
The new brewery had the capacity of fermenting 24,000 gallons of wort at a time. William Thomas Dibb died in 1886 on a journey between Bridlington and Hull; he had rushed to catch a train at Bridlington, causing the guard to stop the train so that he could board. By the time the train arrived in Driffield he was found dead, still sitting upright in his seat. Frederic Gleadow was elected to the board of directors to replace him.
In 1887 Gleadow, Dibb and Co. Ltd. was wound up, and a new company, "The Hull Brewery Company Limited", was formed. The company embarked on a period of increased expansion, acquiring other brewers and bottlers, purchasing licensed houses and enlarging the Silvester Street site. By 1890 they were recorded as owning 160 licensed houses. Trade dropped off during the First World War, but by 1919 the company was able to buy two more local breweries along with their public houses. In 1925 it acquired Sutton, Bean and Company, a Lincolnshire brewery. Beer was transported by barge across the Humber.
World War II led to another drop in trade, and many of the company's properties were damaged or destroyed during the Hull Blitz. The Silvester Street brewery, however, remained intact, possibly because the German bomber pilots used its chimneys as a landmark.
In 1949 the company began producing "Anchor Export", a strong beer, designed to keep and travel well so that it could be taken aboard ships as part of their provisions. It was sold in bottles and cans.
The company was taken over by Northern Dairies in 1972 and the name was changed again to North Country Breweries. However, by 1982, due to the decline in consumption and the changing tastes of the beer-drinking public, the parent company decided to divest and North Country Breweries was purchased by Mansfield Brewery. Brewing at the Silvester Street site ceased in 1985.
