Tolly Cobbold is a former
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 ...
in
Suffolk
Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
,
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 ...
.
History
The name Tolly Cobbold is an amalgamation of the two family-run brewers: the
Tollemache Brewery owned by the
Tollemache family and the Cobbold Brewery owned by the
Cobbold family.
The original Cobbold brewery was founded in
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...
,
Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
in 1723 and in 1746 the Cobbold
Cliff Brewery was founded, at Cliff Lane,
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...
.
The current building of 1896 is a
tower brewery by
William Bradford.
The ''Tollemache Brewery'' was founded in 1888 by three sons of
John Tollemache, 1st Baron Tollemache.
The family acquired Ipswich Brewery from ''Cullingham & Co.'' in 1880, the Essex Brewery at Walthamstow in 1920, a controlling share of the Star Brewery, Cambridge in 1930 and full control in 1947. Tollemache and Cobbold merged in 1958 to form Tolly Cobbold.
Peter Scully, head brewer at Tolly Cobbold until his departure in 1977 remarked that the decline in the number of agricultural workers in the Suffolk villages which both breweries served, meant that the two companies had to merge, and where there were two rival pubs, either the Tolly pub or Cobbold pub was closed.
Tolly Cobbold was taken over by
Ellerman Lines in 1977
who sold it to the Barclay brothers
in 1983 who then sold it to
Brent Walker in 1989. Brent Walker announced they would close the brewery for development as a marina,
with production of Tolly Cobbold beers to transfer to
Camerons Brewery. Brian Cowie and Bob Wales led a management buy-out of the brewery (but not the pubs) for £4m, supported by the Tollemaches and Cobbolds among others.
The brewery was then acquired by
Ridley's Brewery in 2002, who closed the Cliff Brewery.
Ridley's Brewery was taken over by Suffolk-based
Greene King
Greene King is a British pub and brewing company founded in 1799, currently based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. The company also owns brands including Hungry Horse and Farmhouse Inns, as well as other pubs, restaurants and hotels. It was listed o ...
in 2005.
Ridley's continued to brew just one Tolly Cobbold beer, Tolly Original, in
Chelmsford
Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...
. Greene King have not indicated any plans to continue brewing it, but remained a major sponsor of
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football ...
,
which was established by the Cobbold family in 1878.
Cobbold family
The Cobbolds have an important status in Ipswich as the family were landowners in the town and surrounding area.
John Chevalier Cobbold (1797-1882) was descended from "Big" John Cobbold (1746-1835), a 3rd generation brewer.
Christchurch Park was donated to "The people of Ipswich" by the family, along with many other donations of land such as
Ipswich Racecourse. The family also provided several
Members of Parliament for Ipswich over the years. In addition they have provided five chairmen of
Ipswich Town Football Club. Lady Blanche Cobbold was president of the club for many years. ITFC have named a stand in their stadium and a prestigious member's club after the Cobbold family.
Tolly Cobbold beers
Beers in the range included Tolly Original, Cobnut, Tolly Bitter, Tolly Mild, Old Strong, Old Strong Porter (bottle only). Tollyshooter (named in honour of the visit of Sir
John Harvey-Jones to the brewery for his television programme ''
Troubleshooter'', shortly after the 1990 management takeover) Cantab, Cardinal Ale, Cobbold's Conquest, Cobbold's IPA (a straw-coloured bitter), Beano Stout, Countdown, Election Ale (1997), Suffolk Ale, Final Brew and Last Orders – a final brew in 2002.
For a short time in the 1960s, Tolly Cobbold produced an infamous lager known as Husky Brew, which John Cobbold himself compared to a dog's urine.
References
Further reading
Clive Hodges: ''Cobbold & Kin: Life Stories from an East Anglian Family'' (Woodbridge, Boydell Press, 2014) {{ISBN, 9781843839545
External links
Tolly Cobbold Cliff Brewery- photos taken in Spring 2007
Tolly Cobbold Heritage- An in depth history of the Tolly Cobbold Brewery
Defunct breweries of the United Kingdom
History of Suffolk
Ipswich
Companies based in Suffolk
Cobbold family
Tollemache family
Companies based in Ipswich