Brickwood & Co's Ales, Havant

The Brickwood family started brewing in London in the sixteenth century but the name is more closely associated with the Hampshire city of Portsmouth, where the family settled in the mid-nineteenth century. The Brickwoods purchased their first brewery in 1851 and from then on, theirs was largely a story of expansion as the very interesting history pages of the Brickwood website tell us. By 1887 they were the largest brewer and pub owner in town, and by the time Sir John Brickwood died in 1932 in the whole county of Hampshire. However after the war Brickwood faced increased competition from London brewers. To maintain its position, the company entered from the early 1950s onward into a series of agreements with Whitbread. These ultimately paved the way for Whitbread's takeover of Brickwood in 1971. Brewing continued for a few more years in Portsmouth but eventually ceased in 1983. The brewery was later demolished to make way for the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard coachpark.
Nowadays the memory of Brickwood & Co survives essentially on the façades and windows of a few pubs, mostly in Portsmouth and the towns around, such as Havant.


Note that the first three letters are marginally smaller than the others. Also at both ends the interstices between the tessarae are wider and these are of a slightly different red.


You may notice on the first picture two doorstep mosaics but frankly, they are very disappointing.

Location: North Street, Havant, Hampshire / Picture taken on: 30/05/2010