History

The brewery was founded by John Hunt in 1840, but it was Thomas Hunt who went into partnership with William Edmunds (1826–1908) in 1850. Edmunds' son, Charles Fletcher Edmunds (1855–1907) became a partner in 1886, and succeeded his father in 1896. His son Maurice Edmunds (d. 1950) was a later chairman. Eventually the brewery had over 100 pubs.
By 1886 the company had two breweries and 64 tied house

Tied house

In the UK a tied house is a public house that is required to buy at least some of its beer from a particular brewery. This is in contrast to a free house, which is able to choose the beers it stocks freely.- Definition of "tied" :...

s in Banbury. The main brewery was on the southern side of Bridge Street, Banbury, and extended all the way back to George Street. Brands included "Banbury Best Bitter", "Banbury Brown Ale" and "Banbury Cross Ale". In 1924, the brewer Hitchman & Co of Chipping Norton

Chipping Norton

Chipping Norton is a market town in the Cotswold Hills in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about southwest of Banbury.-History until the 17th century:...

 was taken over, and operated through a holding company, Hunt Edmunds Hitchman Co Ltd; the brewery at Chipping Norton was closed in 1931 and brewing transferred to Banbury. In 1951, Hunt Edmunds claimed that they supplied beer to pubs in seven different counties.

Hunt Edmunds was absorbed by Bass, Mitchells & Butlers

Mitchells & Butlers

Mitchells & Butlers plc runs around 2,000 managed pubs, bars and restaurants throughout the United Kingdom. The Company's headquarters is in Birmingham, England, United Kingdom...

 in the 1960s. Demolition followed, with the chimney coming down in 1974. Few buildings remain; the "Crown" public house towards the east of Bridge Street, which was the "tap" outlet for the brewery, with "black and white" architecture, is under threat of redevelopment.

The public houses were usually provided with a plaque which was normally fixed to one side of the main door. These were typically silver grey on a slate grey background, although some were blue on white. Following the brewery's takeover by Mitchells & Butlers in the 1960s, these plaques were either painted over or removed, but several have since been cleaned. They may be seen on pubs both in Banbury and as distant as Bridgend

Bridgend

Bridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of the capital, Cardiff. The river crossed by the original bridge, which gave the town its name, is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes to the south of the town...

, Wales.

External links

• The Kings Head, Wootton - The brewery plaque was usually placed to one side of the main door