Earl Street

Maidstone



Above picture circa 1897. Taken from Bygone Breweries by Keith Osborne.

Above picture circa 1970. Taken from Bygone Breweries by Keith Osborne.

The Pale Ale Brewery in Earl Street, Maidstone, dominated the riverside until 1981, when the fermenting block-the remaining sizeable building-was demolished. The brewhouse had been pulled down in 1976, four years after the cessation of brewing at Maidstone. Fremlins was the largest of the breweries in Kent; not only had it acquired several businesses in the County, but it had also cast its net further afield, taking over Adams' Brewery in Halstead, Essex in 1939 and Harris, Browne's Hadley Brewery at Barnet a year earlier. The Fremlins elephant lost its freedom in 1967, when Whitbread bought the business with its 800 or so licensed properties. (Photo by courtesy of Frank Baillie).

Ralph Fremlin established his brewery in 1861, when he acquired an almost derelict brewery from the executors of Mr John Heathorn. His beers were produced for the family trade only; he was a deeply religious man and his principles ruled out the purchase of public houses. To facilitate the sale of Fremlins ales and stouts, branch offices were opened in London and other towns in the South-east of England. Ralph Fremlin was a pioneer in the supply of beers in bottles and gallon jars, and the brewery's range of products was remarkable. At the time of the brewery's takeover in 1967, no less than nine bottled beers alone were produced.

(All info above from Bygone Breweries by Keith Osborne).

From the Dover Express and East Kent News. 28 May, 1965. BEER BEATEN Fremlins, the East Kent brewers - whose emblem is an elephant - came to the aid of Elephant Battery of the 40th Field Regiment, R.A. at Dover on Friday. The battery was racing against three others to transport a 1½-ton field gun from Germany to Alexandra Palace, London. Fremlins met the Gunners at the quayside - the men are seen aboard their lorry above - and carried the gun to London. But another team, from Tiger Battery, won the day after crossing from Hook of Holland to Harwich. And guess who helped Tiger Battery?