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Stephen Crawley
HIGSON’S GREAT LIVERPOOL COMEBACK
Every great city needs a great brewery and for over 200 years
Liverpool had Higson’s. That sense of humour was severely tested by the 1930s Depression - it
took 18 months’ credit from Pauls Malt to keep Higson’s afloat.
From humble beginnings in 1780, Higson’s became part and parcel of
life in Liverpool and beyon d, until 1990 when the last pint was pulled.
Big brewers were devouring smaller ones as major players wanted bigger
markets for their products and the opportunity to cut costs. Corlett was a fighter and a one off. It was said that clocks in Liverpool
city centre could be set accurately by the timing of his very precise
routines.
Higson’s was bought by Boddingtons, which in turn was purchased by
Whitbread, which chose to sacrifice ‘Higgies’ and keep the ‘Boddies’
Manchester Strangeways brewery. Back in 1780 most beer was home
brewed, with just a few small breweries supplying the alehouses and
taverns in the rapidly expanding port of Liverpool. Higson’s was one
such business based in 64 Dale Street. Its beers were in demand, which
lead to the opening of a bigger, new brewery at Cheapside.
The owners then were the Harvey family, who were succeeded by
Thomas Howard. He gave a job to a young book-keeper called Daniel
Higson. Howard was so impressed by his protégé he left his entire estate
to him and, in 1875, Daniel re-branded the firm under his own name.
Business was hard at the start of the 20th century, not least because
the government was trying to discourage drinking, and even
paid compensation to brewers who closed down pubs in certain
neighbourhoods.
Nevertheless, in 1914 Higson’s was able to acquire the Windsor brewery
in Upper Parliament Street, though World War One quashed any hopes
of a sudden revival. But in 1918 Higson’s was purchased by J. Sykes and
Co. and the brand entered an exciting period. W.E. Corlett, a Liverpool
solicitor, became MD and, despite a slump in world trade, Higson’s
blossomed in the 1920s, thanks partly to its clever marketing.
In 1925 Higson’s promoted its beers like this: ‘something to look forward
to – Higson’s Genuine Ales’, which referred not only to a pint, but also to
the Mersey Tunnel, not due to open for another 9 years!
Higson’s had a sense of fun. A year later the Liverpool Echo reported
that “the press advertisements of these Liverpool Brewers are always
outstanding and are usually of a topical or humorous nature.”
30 wirrallife.com
In 1923, he’d bought Cains Stanhope Brewery and by 1937 the company
had 183 pubs. World War Two and its aftermath brought more
uncertainty, and Higson’s was controlled by an ageing board. When
Gerald Corlett joined in 1955 its average age was 76!
In 1980 the company owned 192 pubs, but had begun to feel the impact
of those rapid changes to the brewing industry.
Yet Higson’s never lost its sense of humour. The 1970s campaign
featuring characters created by cartoonist Emilios Hatjoullis has its
place in marketing and design history. The Old Higsonians he drew,
with names like Albert Dock, Ann Field and Birk ‘n’ Head, are still much
loved by Higson’s fans.
The Higson’s brand may have withered in 1990, but three Wirral people
who remember it particularly well are giving it new life.
After more than 20 years in Scotland’s brewing industry, Stephen
Crawley from Hoylake returned home to found a company called
H1780. Among its investors are Neil and Iain Corlett of the Higson’s
‘dynasty’.
The shell of an old warehouse on Bridgewater Street, in the heart of
Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle, has been transformed into a brand spanking
new place to eat, drink or dally right next to brewing and distilling. It’s
called H1780 Tap & Still - the new home of Higson’s beers. Look out for
them in December.
To find out more, visit h1780tapstill.co.uk