Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1527-1977 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
64.2 linear metres
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
The precise origin of the Truman family's involvement in brewing is unclear. Although 1666 is often cited as the start date, it is more likely to have been in 1679 when Joseph Truman Senior (died 1721) acquired the Black Eagle Street brewhouse from William Bucknall. The two sons of Joseph Truman Senior, Joseph Truman Junior (died 1733) and Benjamin Truman (died 1780) entered the business in 1716 and 1722 respectively. Joseph retired in 1730 and Benjamin developed the business so that in 1760 (the year he was knighted) Truman's brewery was the third biggest in London, brewing 60,000 barrels of beer per annum. After 1780, James Grant (died 1788), Sir Benjamin's assistant and executor, ran the business whilst the property passed to Sir Benjamin's grandsons, General Henry Read and William Truman Read.
In 1789 Sampson Hanbury acquired James Grant's share of the business and manged the brewery until 1835. He was joined in 1811 by his nephew Thomas Fowell Buxton. Additional partners joined in 1816: Thomas Marlborough Pryor and Robert Pryor, who had previously run Proctors brewhouse, Shoreditch. Production rose from 100,000 barrels per annum in 1800 to 400,000 barrels per annum in 1850, so becoming the largest brewery in London.
Truman Hanbury Buxton and Co. Ltd was registered in 1889 as a limited liability company. The company was acquired by Grand Metropolitan Hotels Ltd in 1971 and changed its name to Trumans Ltd. In 1974 it merged with Watney Mann Ltd. Brewing at Burton ceased in 1971 but the Black Eagle Brewery at Brick Lane, Shoreditch, continued to operate until 1988. In 1991, Grand Metropolitan Hotels Ltd was taken over by Courage Ltd.
Repository
Archival history
GB 0074 B/THB 1527-1977 Collection 64.2 linear metres Truman, Hanbury Buxton and Co Ltd , brewers x Trumans Ltd
The precise origin of the Truman family's involvement in brewing is unclear. Although 1666 is often cited as the start date, it is more likely to have been in 1679 when Joseph Truman Senior (died 1721) acquired the Black Eagle Street brewhouse from William Bucknall. The two sons of Joseph Truman Senior, Joseph Truman Junior (died 1733) and Benjamin Truman (died 1780) entered the business in 1716 and 1722 respectively. Joseph retired in 1730 and Benjamin developed the business so that in 1760 (the year he was knighted) Truman's brewery was the third biggest in London, brewing 60,000 barrels of beer per annum. After 1780, James Grant (died 1788), Sir Benjamin's assistant and executor, ran the business whilst the property passed to Sir Benjamin's grandsons, General Henry Read and William Truman Read.
In 1789 Sampson Hanbury acquired James Grant's share of the business and manged the brewery until 1835. He was joined in 1811 by his nephew Thomas Fowell Buxton. Additional partners joined in 1816: Thomas Marlborough Pryor and Robert Pryor, who had previously run Proctors brewhouse, Shoreditch. Production rose from 100,000 barrels per annum in 1800 to 400,000 barrels per annum in 1850, so becoming the largest brewery in London.
Truman Hanbury Buxton and Co. Ltd was registered in 1889 as a limited liability company. The company was acquired by Grand Metropolitan Hotels Ltd in 1971 and changed its name to Trumans Ltd. In 1974 it merged with Watney Mann Ltd. Brewing at Burton ceased in 1971 but the Black Eagle Brewery at Brick Lane, Shoreditch, continued to operate until 1988. In 1991, Grand Metropolitan Hotels Ltd was taken over by Courage Ltd.
The records have been deposited in the London Metropolitan Archives in nine separate but interrelated sections from 1973 to 1979 (AC/73/036, AC/75/064, AC/75/068, AC/76/053, AC/76/083, AC/77/043, AC/77/094 and AC/77/114).
Records of Truman Hanbury Buxton and Co Ltd, 1527-1977, comprising: corporate records, (B/THB/A); accounting records (B/THB/B); production records (B/THB/C); property records (B/THB/D); trade records (B/THB/E); staff records (B/THB/F); family and personal papers (B/THB/G); records relating to the history of the firm (B/THB/H); diaries (B/THB/J); printed material (B/THB/PMT); photographs (B/THB/X); and artefacts (B/THB/Y).
Also records of breweries taken over by Trumans, comprising Burton Brewery (B/THB/BUR); George Wood and Son Ltd (B/THB/GW); Russells Gravesend Brewery (B/THB/RUS); Swansea United Breweries (B/THB/SUB); and Writtle Brewery (B/THB/WRI).
The records include administrative papers, correspondence, stocks and shares papers, deeds, agreements, articles of agreement for partnerships, board meeting papers, monthly reports, order books, ledgers, records of brewing, stock, bottling and cooperage, gyle books, deeds, tenancy agreements, licensing records, papers relating to public houses including visitation registers, inventories, photographs, sales and deliveries records, wages books, staff medical records, registers of employees, recruitment records, historical research, house journals, newspaper cuttings, official publications and souvenir badges.
The collection has been arranged by three successive archivists, following the pattern set by the Business Archive Council.
Open, except board and committee minutes and unpublished corporate and accounting records which are closed for 30 years. Staff records containing personal and confidential information are closed for a longer period of time, and written permission is required from the Company Secretary.
Suitable copies can be made for the purpose of private study only. Permission to publish copies of documents or to quote large quantities of text in published works must be obtained from the Company Secretary. It is the responsibility of the individual researcher to contact Courage Ltd about matters of copyright.
English
Fit
Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
London Metropolitan Archives holds records for Phillips' Brewery, Burton on Trent (purchased by Truman's in 1873); Swansea United Breweries Ltd, Orange Street Brewery, Swansea (purchased by Truman's in 1926); Russells Gravesend Brewery Ltd, West Street Brewery, Gravesend (purchased by Truman's in 1930). Extensive collections of brewery records are also held, including Barclay Perkins and Gourage (Acc 2305), Fuller, Smith and Turner (Acc 891), Meux Ltd (Acc 1724), Sich's Isleworth Brewery (Acc 1214, Acc 1939) and part of Reid's (Ac.75.108 interim list only); Watney Combe Reid and Co. and Watney Man and Co. (Acc 1979).
Additional records of Truman Hanbury Buxton and Co Ltd are held by the Company Archivist of Courage Ltd.
Trumans the Brewers 1666-1966 (GLHL 35.145 TRU); The Brewing Industry in England 1700-1830, P. Mathius (GLHL 35.145 MAT); The Brewing Industry: A guide to Historic Records, L. Richmond and A. Turton (GLHL 60.43 RIC) Spitalfields, Survey of London vol 27 (GLHL 78.3 LCC).
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
July to October 2009 Swansea England UK Western Europe Europe Staffordshire Burton on Trent Courage Ltd Watney Mann Ltd Grand Metropolitan Hotels Ltd Swansea United Breweries Ltd Writtle Brewery Russells Gravesend Brewery Ltd George Wood and Son Ltd , brewers Phillips' Brewery , Burton on Trent Truman , Hanbury Buxton and Co Ltd , brewers x Trumans Ltd Truman , Sir , Benjamin , 1700-1780 , Knight , brewer Company archives Finance Company finance Property Business administration People People by occupation Beer Personnel Food industry personnel Brewers Literature Literary forms and genres Prose Nonfiction Diaries Records and correspondence Records (documents) Personnel records Industrial economics Mergers Industrial policy Business records Information sources Documents Primary documents Food Agricultural products Beverages Alcoholic beverages Architecture Buildings Commercial buildings Breweries Agronomy Cultivation Food production Management Business management Glamorgan Wales Burton Writtle Essex Gravesend Kent Brick Lane Spitalfields London Tower Hamlets Burton-upon-Trent Business
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
The records have been deposited in the London Metropolitan Archives in nine separate but interrelated sections from 1973 to 1979 (AC/73/036, AC/75/064, AC/75/068, AC/76/053, AC/76/083, AC/77/043, AC/77/094 and AC/77/114).
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Records of Truman Hanbury Buxton and Co Ltd, 1527-1977, comprising: corporate records, (B/THB/A); accounting records (B/THB/B); production records (B/THB/C); property records (B/THB/D); trade records (B/THB/E); staff records (B/THB/F); family and personal papers (B/THB/G); records relating to the history of the firm (B/THB/H); diaries (B/THB/J); printed material (B/THB/PMT); photographs (B/THB/X); and artefacts (B/THB/Y).
Also records of breweries taken over by Trumans, comprising Burton Brewery (B/THB/BUR); George Wood and Son Ltd (B/THB/GW); Russells Gravesend Brewery (B/THB/RUS); Swansea United Breweries (B/THB/SUB); and Writtle Brewery (B/THB/WRI).
The records include administrative papers, correspondence, stocks and shares papers, deeds, agreements, articles of agreement for partnerships, board meeting papers, monthly reports, order books, ledgers, records of brewing, stock, bottling and cooperage, gyle books, deeds, tenancy agreements, licensing records, papers relating to public houses including visitation registers, inventories, photographs, sales and deliveries records, wages books, staff medical records, registers of employees, recruitment records, historical research, house journals, newspaper cuttings, official publications and souvenir badges.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
The collection has been arranged by three successive archivists, following the pattern set by the Business Archive Council.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open, except board and committee minutes and unpublished corporate and accounting records which are closed for 30 years. Staff records containing personal and confidential information are closed for a longer period of time, and written permission is required from the Company Secretary.
Conditions governing reproduction
Suitable copies can be made for the purpose of private study only. Permission to publish copies of documents or to quote large quantities of text in published works must be obtained from the Company Secretary. It is the responsibility of the individual researcher to contact Courage Ltd about matters of copyright.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
English
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
London Metropolitan Archives holds records for Phillips' Brewery, Burton on Trent (purchased by Truman's in 1873); Swansea United Breweries Ltd, Orange Street Brewery, Swansea (purchased by Truman's in 1926); Russells Gravesend Brewery Ltd, West Street Brewery, Gravesend (purchased by Truman's in 1930). Extensive collections of brewery records are also held, including Barclay Perkins and Gourage (Acc 2305), Fuller, Smith and Turner (Acc 891), Meux Ltd (Acc 1724), Sich's Isleworth Brewery (Acc 1214, Acc 1939) and part of Reid's (Ac.75.108 interim list only); Watney Combe Reid and Co. and Watney Man and Co. (Acc 1979).
Additional records of Truman Hanbury Buxton and Co Ltd are held by the Company Archivist of Courage Ltd.
Finding aids
Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English