There are two articles transcribed on this page. The first is a long piece about the Mitchell brewing family, the second is a response from a reader. The year of publication probably 1950.
It will be news to many Castleford people that at one time the town had its own brewery, with a big trading connection in surrounding towns and villages. It was founded by Mr William MITCHELL and when he died in 1873, it passed to his four sons; John, Mark, William and Benjamin.
The business was then carried on as Mitchell Brothers, brewers and maltsters, for 10 years. The brewery was at Whitwood Mere, its buildings which are now a rug factory near the railway crossing in Leeds road. The Lord Raglan Hotel was then Mere House and was the home of the Mitchell family.
John appears to have been primarily responsible for continuing the brewery. Benjamin was occupied in administrative work and eventually started a small brewery at Glass Houghton as the Castle Brewery but while associated with the Mere Brewery he lived at Glass Houghton farm. The firm had three farms in all, for the growing of barley for the brewery and oats for feeding the horses and cattle, and also cured bacon and hams to supply shops, including Rowntree's of York. The products were described as of a quality to command special prices.
John married Mary Winterbottom whose father, with Dr Jessop, paid £495 to Lord Houghton in 1834 for four acres of land and erected the Ryebread Glass Works - of which Mr Edgar Breffit became the proprieter in later years. Mrs Mitchell was the organist of the Whitwood Mere parish church during the incumbency of the late Rev. J. J. Needham and, on special occasions at the church and Sunday School, Mrs Needham visited the brewery for ham, butter and similar needs for parties.
The founder of the brewery was 69 when he died and his wife Mary died in Pontefract in 1890 at the age of 80 years. Both were buried at the Hightown Cemetery and there is a stained glass window to their memory in the church. A son of John Mitchell, Mr Herbert Mitchell of Burnley, Lancashire, is the only grandson of the founder now living, and is now in his 79th year. He was born at Mere House, and went to a school called the "Wooden Box" where a Miss Middleton was the teacher.
The photograph [original photograph not available, photograph taken 01-Mar-2002 included instead] reproduced herewith is of a card which representatives of the firm distributed at public houses they visited. It is a sketch of the premises in the days before the railway line passed through part of the site. On the left is Mere House, now the Lord Raglan Hotel, and behind are the buildings in which malt and hops were brewed. Cottages (now demolished) shown on the right, were occupied by employees and behind them are the stables. The centre building in the rear was where the beer was brewed and barrelled. It is also interesting to record that part of Castleford was at that time supplied with gas from the centre building in front and the gasometer shown.
The sketch also shows a well in the brewery yard. Filtering arrangements were laid in the ground to purify water taken from the river behind the works. It is described as excellent water which helped to make the finest ales to be bought in Yorkshire.
On the reverse side of the card is a list of prices, which bear interesting comparisons with present-day prices. They are as follows:
Ales in Cask
|
Porters in Cask
|
It is understood that 52 public houses were associated with the brewery, including the L. and Y. Hotel Knottingley; the Queen's Hotel, Morley - where there was a cabaret and billiards hall, in which stars such as Vesta Tilley began their careers; and the Nag's Head, Pontefract. The Lord Raglan Hotel was originally on the opposite side of the road, but the building of the railway bridge made it very dark, and it was transferred to Mere House. After the brewery was closed, part of the premises were still used for malting.
Much interest has been aroused by the article in "The Express" on October 27 recalling something of the history of a fromer brewery at Whitwood Mere, founded by Mr William Mitchell. Many ramifications of the family of the founder have been revealed but they take the matter far beyond the history of the brewery.
It should be stated, however, that Mr Herbert Mitchell of Burnley, is the only surviving son of one of the sons of the founder (John) - not the only grandson of the founder. Mr Thomas Mitchell of 11, Beechwood Crescent, Pontefract, is another grandson, and Mr E. E. Pickersgill of Scarborough, points out that he and his brother and three sisters remain of the family of Mrs Eliza Pickersgill, who was a daughter of the founder and who controlled the Old Castle Brewery, Pontefract for over 50 years.