However the buildings occupied by Bevin, Bevin & Co have an interesting history as they were originally part of the Eagle Brewery. There are some uncertainties regarding the early history of the brewery. It appears to have been founded in the late 1720s or early 1730s. In the late 1820s (possibly 1828) it was taken over by Puttock & Co, who had tied houses in Arundel, Littlehampton, Angmering and certainly a few other places across Sussex. A few years later, in 1832, it passed into the hands of Robert Watkins, the agent of the Duke of Norfolk. One could easily imagine there were not only economic but also political reasons behind this acquisition. Indeed the owner of Arundel Castle was also the local MP and his main opponent at parliamentary elections was George Constable, who owned the Swallow Brewery, Arundel's other brewery, and controlled six public houses in the town. Between 1839 and 1871 the Eagle Brewery was tenanted to William Osborn and William Duke. In 1872 the brewery and its 22 tied housed passed into the hands of Henry Harrison. Six years later it was acquired by Isaac Cowley Lambert and Edward Thomas Norris, who founded around 1882 Lambert & Co. By 1898 the company changed its name to Lambert & Norris Ltd. Under Lambert & Norris's ownership, the number of pubs tied to the Eagle Brewery increased to 81 but in spite of this apparent success, difficult times laid ahead. By the turn of the 20th century sales of beer were declining as more and more people were switching to water and several breweries went through hard times. This precipitated a wave of amalgations and take overs in which small players in the brewing industry became preys for larger companies. In 1910 Lambert & Norris's brewery and pubs were taken over by Friary, Holroyd & Healys Brewery Ltd of Guildford, the forerunners of Friary Meux Ltd. The new owners continued to produce beer in Arundel for about 25 more years (although according to some sources it stopped c. 1915) but by the late 1930s, all brewing activity had ceased and the site became used as a depot only. Nowadays, apart from the buildings between Tarrant Street and River Road bought by Bevin, Bevin & Co, traces of the Eagle Brewery can be seen in Tarrant Street. At one end of a row of houses once owned by the brewery the pub The Eagle is still open to customers, while at the opposite end, the inscription "Eagle Brewery Offices" can still be seen on the façade.
Location: Brewery Hill, Arundel, West Sussex / Picture taken on: 11/07/2010
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