James Shipstone & Sons was a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

New Basford Basford is a northerly suburb of Nottingham, in Nottinghamshire, England, incorporated into the city in 1877. It gave its name to Basford Rural District, which existed from 1894 to 1974. The ward population at the 2011 census was 16,207, est ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, that opened in 1852 and closed in 1991.

History

The company produced the Shipstones brand of beer, known locally as Shippo's. The company was founded by James Shipstone in 1852 at the Star Brewery in the New Basford area of Nottingham. A red illuminated star at the top of the brewery's tower could be seen for miles around. In 1922, it absorbed both the Beeston Brewery Company and William Hooley Limited. By 1939, the company owned 550 licensed premises, thirty diesel lorries for long distance delivery work and fifty horses for local delivery work. The brewery remained an independent family business until 1978 when the company was purchased by Greenall's of

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

which also purchased a number of other breweries from neighbouring towns and cities. Greenall's introduced minor changes to the production of the various Shipstones beers and increased the marketing of the company. In 1987, Shipstones became the main shirt sponsor of

Nottingham Forest F.C. Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1865, Nottingham Forest h ...

, an arrangement which continued until 1994. Shiptones Iron brew

In 1990, Greenall's announced that they were ending all beer production and becoming a retailer only company. Production at Shipstones Brewery ended in early 1991 after 139 years. The Shipstones brand continued to be produced for some years afterwards at breweries in

Burton upon Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

. Today the company offices have been taken over, while some housing and retail units have been constructed on other parts of the site. The landmark

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

building, constructed in 1900 with later extension, remains standing and is presently owned by a local auction house. In November 2013, a 1921 portrait by

Noel Denholm Davis Noel Denholm Davis (1876–1950) was a British artist, who worked chiefly as a portrait painting, portraitist. He was born in Nottingham, England, in 1876 and studied at Nottingham School of Art, and then the Royal Academy Schools. He spent a ...

of Sir Thomas Shipstone, of the family who owned the brewery, was auctioned by Biddle and Webb of Birmingham. It was purchased by a Nottingham art collector, Ash Gangotra, who offered it on long-term loan to a planned Shipstone's heritage centre. A small brewing house, Little Star Brewery, has opened in

Old Basford Old Basford is an area of Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is ...

, Nottingham, north of the original Star Brewery in 2016. The proprietors obtained the rights to and have revived the Shipstones brand, offering a small range of products. There is an associated pub alongside, the Fox and Crown.

References

{{coords, 52.977, -1.17, display=title

External sites

Shipstones micro brewery website
Companies established in 1852 Companies disestablished in 1991 Defunct breweries of the United Kingdom Manufacturing companies based in Nottingham 1852 establishments in England Food and drink companies established in 1852