The Stourmouth Brewery: Stourmouth, Nr Wingham, Canterbury, Kent

The Belgian Connection

The next owners were the Lemarque Brothers who came into possession of the brewery in 1868. As well as local trade, the brothers developed a trade in Bruges, Belgium - presumably where they came from. They sent barrels of their India Pale Ale from Grove Ferry Railway Station, S.E.R; (being the nearest to the brewery) on to Ramsgate Station, which was in those days on the seafront next to the harbour. From there it was transported across the Channel to Ostende, most likely in a three-masted ship as depicted on F.A. White's beer label (right), and then on to Bruges. Once there it was bottled by Michel Vogel of 38½ (sic), Grand Platz (‘Platz’ as it is written is German - Flemish was in those days the minority language - today it is called ‘De Markt’). The ½ number of the bottling premises address was an annex to number 38 Grand Platz, a grocers also selling Stourmouth India Pale Ale up until at least 1895, and Worthington Ales & Stout 333 (333 treble?) up to 1908. It was probably at this date that Michel Vogel went out of business as demolition of the building (including ‘Café Foy’ at number 35 to number 38½) was necessary to allow entry into the Vlamingstraat where a new Government building was to be built in 1909. That is one of the reasons why all the numbers on that corner of the Grand Platz changed sequence during this period. After the demolition they changed the numbers to go to only number 35, (I know now why I could not find the bottler's premises when I travelled there 5 years ago).

Records state that in 1895 Michel Vogel was also trading at number 31, a pub called ‘Deutsches Bierhaus’ selling Munchener Augustiner Brau beer up until 1900. The same premises was also the Café/Restaurant Trappistenbrau, a gathering place for the Bruges Cycling Club and home to the Automobile Club des Flandres. It is now called Café Central (currently at 30 De Markt!).

Nothing has been recorded in Bruge relating to the Lermarque Brothers short history, only here in Stourmouth; neither is anything else known about Michel Vogel. This is possibly due to the destruction of some records during the 1st World War.

The Final Brewery Owner - F.A. White's Stourmouth Brewery

In November 1875, Francis Alexander White, aged 27 (formerly with Cobb's Brewery, Margate), purchased the brewery and by 1881 was employing 8 men:

Albert J. Manton	Head Brewer	aged 41	born Isham, Northampton
Joseph Louth	Brewers Labourer	aged 45	born Boston, Lincolnshire
George Laurence	Drayman	aged 29	born Mongelham
Alfred Nutting	Maltman	aged 28	born Chislet
Henry Read	Drayman	aged 49	born Reculver
Edward J. Newing	Cellarman	aged 23	born Deal
George Oliver and one other.	Malsters Man	aged 24	born Sturry

Twenty years later the following were employed by the brewery (extracted from the 1901 census) :

Benjamin T. Collard	Malster and Drayman	aged 27	b. Waldershare (boarding with the Hewitts on West Street).
Henry Long	Brewer’s Cellarman	aged 35	b. Canterbury, living on West Street.
Thomas Russell	Cooper at Brewery	aged 42	b. Cranbrook (boarding with above Henry Long and family).
James Coltham	Brewer’s Drayman	aged 26	b.Canterbury, living on West Street.
George W. Bennett	Brewer’s Labourer	aged 17	b. Addisham (boarding with above James Coltham and his wife).
John Bushell	Brewer’s clerk	aged 44	b. Sandwich, living at Brewery House.
Edgar Bower	Brewer	aged 44	b. Wandsworth, London, living on West Street.

F.A. White brewed Pale Bitter Ale, X Mild, Porter, the noted E.I.A.; Light Dinner Ale, Superior Dinner Beer, Cooper Beer, Double Stout & Pale Ales. The brewery was a 6 quart plant supplied by excellent water from an 11ft. deep well. This was pumped by windmill and, on less windy days, by steam engine. It had a 30-quarter malthouse, surrounded by White's 70 acres of farm land. Wheat, barley, oats and hops were all supplied by local growers. There were several linked cellars joining the different buildings. All have now caved in, but it is hoped that one day they will be restored. The two main unrivalled cellars (60ft in length - so long that about 40 years ago a man actually used to ride his bike down there just for fun), linked the Brewery and Old Brewery House to the long building (now demolished) that was used for the storage of full barrels of beer. The Drayman would then load up the horse drawn carts for delivery of the beers to their final destination.

Stourmouth brewery today

The bottles carried a colour printed label - Red, Black & White, depicting an old 3 masted sailing ship surrounded by the Stourmouth Brewery, India Pale Ale insert, F.A. White's signature, and (still) bottled by: Michel Vogel, 38½ Grand Platz, Bruges. The Light Dinner Ale label does not have White's signature or Vogel's name and address on it. How many brands were exported is unknown and I have not personally seen any of White's beer bottles.

F.A. White owned 11 Pubs:

The Rising Sun, Stourmouth. From its date of registration in 1709 until 1865 its publicans were also bakers, with one exception. Keeper Thomas Lucke who came here in 1776 is described as a beer seller, baker and ferryman. In fact the pub was for many years known locally as the Ferryman's Inn, where the ferryman who worked the ferries across the mile wide estuary to the ‘Crown’ (Cherry Brandy House) at Sarre. ‘The Rising Sun’ had a framed indenture, which was signed and sealed by Francis White, Henry Gibb and one other (Lemarque?) and this hung in the dining area. There were also some small handbills displayed ‘for the sale of land and buildings’ in the pool table room. These items were there until the later part of the 20th Century, but have since disappeared as the pub has changed hands several times over the intervening this period

The Ship, Wingham.

The Royal George, Waldershare.

The Chequers, Selstead.

The Oxford Hotel.

The Plough (off-licence), Stour- mouth.

The New Inn, Monkton The Alexandra, Margate

The Ben Jonson, Canterbury

The Crown, known as ‘The Famous Cherry Brandy House’, Sarre. Flint's of Canterbury disposed of this house to Shepherd Neame in 1910 - they had painted the front with ‘The Original Half-Way House, Estd 400 Years’, to which the rival Geo. Beer & Rigden's house the ‘King's Head Half Way House’ replied by putting up a board ‘Estd 55 Years B.C.’ i.e ‘Before Crown’.

The Dog & Duck, Pluck's Gutter. Windows still bear White's name. In 1821-23 the notorious North Kent Gang of smugglers used Pluck's Gutter, crossing the river from here.

The Dog & Duck, Pluck's Gutter

The brewery also supplied local trade around Ash, Sandwich, and Woodnesborough.

A lot of business was done throughout the Isle of Thanet, and an advert from The Thanet Times, Margate & The Cliftonville Express, dated Friday 8th July, 1898, which advertised “The Celebrated STOURMOUTH ALES” obtained at The Oxford Hotel and adjoining which, Stores for the above Ales at 3, St. Peter's Road, Margate.

Not only was he a Maltster, Hop Grower, Farmer (with 70 acres of land), he was an Aerated Water producer. I have three variations of his Codds bottles, one complete, all Aqua Blue in colour. The 8oz. has F.A.White, Stourmouth in plain embossing. The other two, are 12oz. bottles. One has F.A. White Stourmouth in an oval shape embossed on it. The other carries ‘The Niagra Bottle’ trade mark – Barnett & Foster-makers-London, with a registration number 65433 at its base. On the other side Francis White Stourmouth. Business still continued until his death, after a short illness, aged 56.

Engraved window in the Dog & Duck, Pluck's Gutter

Major White, as he was known, had been for 18 years an officer in the 1st Volunteer Battalion the Buffs having joined the regiment in 1872. A 1881 British Census listing Francis A White – dwelling – Preston Fostal - age 33, born at Yalding, Kent in 1848. He died 1904 aged 56. His grave is in Stourmouth church yard.

Flint & Sons Ltd (Brewers) of Roper Road, Canterbury, purchased the brewery & the 11 Public houses were bought at an auction on 9th July, 1904, for £16,500. There was a clearance sale of plant & machinery on the 5th October, 1905.

The brewery with White's adjoining house along with the Old Brewery house (Head Brewer's) still stand today as private dwellings, situated Nr Wingham, Canterbury (‘near Dover’ was it's address in those days – approximately 25 miles).

The former Head Brewer's house

An extract from ‘Notes on Stourmouth 1950-1970 by Maggie Baldwin’ There was a cottage attached to the ruins of the brewery wherein lived an old widow-woman, Mrs Sargent. We as children all thought she was a witch! She would come out and scream at us for playing among the brewery ruins. (I dare say she was only concerned for our safety!)

A copy of a hand-out/memorandum to the trade, a signed memorandum from Francis A White, Telegrams & Goods, Grove Ferry Station (now demolished; The Station which was on the opposite side of the railway track from the ‘Grove Ferry’ public house was then on the Ashford and Margate line of the South Eastern and Chatham railway), dated 1890s, a copy from a Wingham Magazine with an extract from ‘Dover Illustrated’ about the Brewery. Also pictures of Grand Platz.

I sent a letter to the local paper to see if anyone would come up with any more information about the brewery and the following people helped with pieces of information: Many thanks to Chris Gibbs (Stourmouth Brewers descendant) for the 1851/61/71, British Census listings and Newspaper cuttings, Peter Meikeljohn for the 1881 British census listings, Mrs. B.J. Hunt, Mr. Herbert Spickett, Mrs. Moira Austin, Lesley Huppert (From Constance Bay, Ontario), Dorothy James for a great drawing of the Brewery outbuilding, Colin Timms. A lot of the chronology was thankfully submitted by Ray Farleigh which is substantiated from records at the Collingdale library, extracts include: Walker's Directory of Brewers & Maltsters, Kelly's Directory of Brewers & Maltsters,The Brewers Guardian, The Brewers Journal , The Brewers Gazette, and a book by H.A. Monckton's -“Whitbread Family Tree”. Andy Barret (Proprietor of The Ramsgate Royal Harbour Brewerhouse & Bakers), Stephan D'Arcy, J Vermeire, Charlotte de Smet (Huisbrouwerij de Halve Maan) and Filip Geerts aka Trappist, historian and member of Belgian Beer Board, which is a brewery history information web site - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/belgianbeer/ Also Dutch Beer Magazine ‘De Zytholoog’.