A few in the know are aware and have helped in getting a comprehensive record of the known ginger beers which Dorset retailers used. There was an intention to publish this in a small booklet when the spark of an idea formed at a club meeting many moons ago. When it was realized that material once dug was not being recorded and an opportunity lost. Things have changed and it now it seams sensible to present the record in a short guide form on line free for all to see.
Dorset’s ginger beer manufactures were largely based around the coastal towns. To date the Bournemouth Poole boast around sixty seven known different types. Dorchester Weymouth and Portland a further thirty eight and the rest of the county just twelve. This is where the main bulk of the population was at the turn of the century and where the holiday trade had most impact. That is a total of one hundred and seventeen different variations from fifty seven different retailers spanning a time period of 1850 to the 1930’s, some seventy years.
They were manufactured in the main by potteries such as Price Powell Bristol , Lovett and Lovett , Priest Cardiff potteries. The enclosures used were cork, (some of which are Galtee more patents), internal screw stopper and crown cork enclosures. Generally they are non pictorial just having a retailers name and town where the depot was located.
Ginger beer bottle collecting is one of the most popular sub collecting categories within bottle collecting and some people specialize in only these types. The Local collector collects names and builds a picture of how the trade was in their region during the Victorian and Edwardian period . They also get a glimpse into every day life of the period through objects in common use at the time. It does not stop with the bottle. History of the people who used them bring the object back to life.
A list of the retailers
| Retailer | Location | Town | Date | Types recorded |
| Hall and Woodhouse Brewers | Blandford St Mary | Blandford | 1895- 1939 > | screw CH, TT, maker price. |
| J.L Marsh | Bryanston St | Blandford | 1911-1935 | CH, TT, Crown cap |
| Groves | Blandford | IMP. | ||
| Bedford and Burnistion | 44 Boscombe Grove Road, Boscombe | Bournemouth | 1895-1940 | 1) Cork std Saltglaze bourne Eastwood Impressed2) Internal Screw std saltglaze Bourne Eastwood Impressed
3) Cork std Twotone Bourne Eastwood Impressed. 4) Internal Screw std honeyglaze Price |
| Bournemouth Brewery (Crane & Osmond). | 117 Holdenhurst Rd. | Bournemouth | 1903-1907 | 1) Cork std saltglaze Stiff impressed.2) Cork std whiteglazed price |
| Bournemouth Mineral Water Works (RH White) (Bournemouth Brewery) | 117 Holdenhurst Rd | Bournemouth | 1895 | 1)Cork std Whiteglaze, Price |
| Carr, Gibbs & Sons (wine and spirit Merchent) | Commercial Road | Bournemouth and Parkstone | 1895 | 1)Cork Std Whiteglaze Hawley |
| Crane & Osmond(Bournemouth Brewery) | 117 Holdenhurst Rd | Bournemouth | 1)Internal screw std twotone Bourne Denby | |
| Joseph B Crawley Co2 | Bournemouth | 1903 | 1)Cork, std, twotone, Price | |
| J.M Dowden & Co (Mowhawk) | 7 Lansdown Rd | Bournemouth | 1885 | 1) Cork std whiteglaze |
| Dowden & Co Ltd (Mowhawk) | Oxford Rd
St Pauls Lane |
Bournemouth | 1887
1890-1907 |
1) Cork Std White glaze Smith.2) Cork Std Whiteglaze |
| H Keene | 175 WindHam Rd | Bournemouth | 1926 | 1) Screw Std Whiteglaze Price Furness/Keene pattern2) Screw std whiteglaze Price Dirrerent pattern |
| Furness & Keene | 175 Windham Rd | Bornemouth | 1929- 1940 | 1) Screw std whiteglaze Powel |
| Victor Garcia Mineral Water Works | Bournemouth | 1) Screw std Whiteglaze price | ||
| Hope & CoSpa works | christchurch Rd Boscombe | Bournemouth | 1895 | 1) Cork std Whiteglaze Powell |
| Hygiene Mineral Water Co (Locke Bros) | Tuckton & Wick | Bournemouth | 1899-1922 | 1) Cork std honeyglaze Price2) Screw std honeyglaze Price |
| E.P. King | West Cliff Grove | Bournemouth | 1895 | 1) Screw std twotone Price |
| Lambert & Co(late Laneys) | 13 cotland Rd | Bournemouth | 1907 | 1) Cork std whiteglaze Price/Powell |
| Ernest A Laney | Between 89 and 95 Holdernhurst Rd | Bournemouth | 1903-1907 | 1) Cork std Honeyglaze Price. |
| W. J. Mc Cabe | Salisbury Hotel Christchurch Rd | Bournemouth | 1) Crown cap Ch twotone2) Smaller version of 1 Price | |
| Palmerston wine stores | Boscombe | Bournemouth | 1) Cork, ch, twotone Price | |
| 1)Wm Saul & Co
2) Saul & Co |
Princess Yard Holdern hurst Rd | Bournemouth | 1) 1895-19032) 1911-1913 | 1) a)Cork std saltglaze impb) Cork Std Whiteglaze.Price
2) Cork Std Whiteglaze Price
|
| Tesse Mineral Water Co | Boscombe ChristchurchWest Hill Rd | Bournemouth | 1906 | 1) Screw std Whiteglaze Price |
| E. J. Thompson (Beer wine and spirit dealer) | 1 Alumhurst Rd Westbourne | Bournemouth | 1895-1903 | 1) Screw, std, whiteglaze, Price |
| Victoria Mineral Water Co | Gloster Place Boscombe. | Bournemouth | 1899 | 1) Cork std twotone Price2) Cork Galtee Moore Std twotone Price |
| West Cliff Mineral Water Works | West Hill Rd West Cliff | Bournemouth | 1907-1929 | 1) Screw Std Whiteglaze PricePowell |
| South Western Mineral Water CoTowns
B- Bournemouth L- Lymington S Swanage W Wimbourne. Sa Salisbury |
Bournemouth | Dates1890- Deabs Court Wimbourne
1895- 1923 2 Wharf Rd Bournemouth 1903 Herston Swanage. 1907 Kings Rd East Swanage 1907 North Colse Lymington 1920 West St Wimbourne 1920 Sentry Rd Swanage 1925 5 Spring Rd Bournemouth 1929 5 Spring Rd Bournemouth + IDRIS 1938 126 130 Malmesbury Park Rd Bourn 1940 SWMW Co not listed.
Types 1 Circle Badge No shield or castle 2 Scroll 3 Circle badge with shield and castle 4 As 3 square Bournemouth 5 As 4 name abreviated 6 As 3 Bournemouth in banner 7 As 6 Name abbreviated
Bottle variations Type 4 a) crown cap white glaze Bourne Denby L, S, B b) Crown cap std White glaze W, S, B
Type 5 a) Cork Std White glaze Bourne Denby L, W, S, B b) Screw std white glaze Bourne Denby L, W, S, B c) Crown cap Std White glaze Bourne Denby L, S, B. d) Crown cap std whiteglaze Bourne Denby W, S, B.
Type 6 a) Screw std whiteglaze W, S, B. b) Crown Cap Std Whiteglaze Price W, S, B
Type 7 a) Screw std Whiteglaze Price L, W, S, B b) scre std Whiteglaze Price W, S, B. c) Crowncap Std Whiteglaze W, S, B |
||
| J.C. & R.H. Palmer | The Old brewery West Bay Rd | Bridport | 1927-1939 | 1) Cork Std Twotone Pearson Blueprint 2 sides |
| Frampton Bros Brewers | Christchurch | Cork Champ twotone Price | ||
| Fredrick Joseph Barrett ( Durnovarian | 27 Cornwall Rd | Dorchester | 1899 | 1) Corck Std Twotone Simple Shield2) Cork Std Twotone Powell Elabourate shield |
| F.W. EdwardsCyclist Favorite | The Grove | Dorchester | 1) Std Twotone Powell | |
| D Hounsell | Dorchester | 1)Cork Std Whiteglaze price | ||
| Eldridge Pope & Co Ltd | Dorchester | 1)Cork Cham Twotone | ||
| Nobbs Stent & Co Ltd | Dorchester | 1) Cork Std Two Tone impressed | ||
| J Porter Beer Wine and Spirt Merchent. | 47 High East Street | Dorchester | 1903 | 1) Cork Std Whiteglaze Priest |
| E. J. George & Co | Newbury | Gillingham | 1895-1899 | 1) Cork Std whiteglaze |
| H Badcock & Co | North close | Lymington | 1885-1903 | 1)Cork std White glaze Price |
| Lymington mineral water Co | North Close | Lymington | 1918? | 1) screw std whiteglaze Price2)Crown cap std whiteglaze Price Ship tm. |
| Geo F Baker New Forest Works | Bransgore & Cadnam | 1) Screw std whiteglaze Price | ||
| George Ayles | Swanage | 1) Cork Std whiteglaze Lovatt & Lovatt | ||
| Strong & Co | The Brewery Bell St | Romsey | 1890-1935 | 1) Cork Std white glaze Price2) Std twotone script text.
3) cork std twtonne Price Wareham (1907-1920) |
| Henery Bowring | Lower Bond St | Weymouth | 1885-1903 | 1) Cork std whiteglaze Price |
| George Denning | Edward St | Weymouth | 1885-1903 | 1) Cork Galtee More std whiteglaze |
| J A Devenish & Co Ltd | The brewery Hope Square | Weymouth | Screw cham twotone | |
| HY Chas MooreCrown Mineral Water Works | Refereshment rooms 35 cresent St | Weymouth | 1923 | 1) screw cham twotone Price2) Crown cap cham dumpy twotone stiff
3) screw cham two tone as 2 |
| Phoenix Areated Water Co (A Graham) | Trinity St | Weymouth | 1880 | 1) Cork std whiteglaze Price2) Crown cap cham twotone Price
3) Cork std twotone |
| South Dorset Trades Mineral Water Co | Edward St & Holly Rd | Weymouth | 1907-1939 | 1) Cork Galtee Moore Std Whiteglaze |
| Weymouth Soda Water Co Ltd | Clifton Place Park St | Weymouth | 1875-1931 | 1) Cork Std whiteglaze Price |
| W Seymore & Co | Seyco House Green Hill | Sherbourne | 1890> | 1) screw std whiteglaze |
| E W Taylor | Cheap St | Sherbourne | 1899 | 1) screw std honeyglaze Price |
| Henry Sharp | High St | Christchurch | 1846 | 1) Cork std saltglazed impressed |
| Dorset Mineral Water Co | 11 West St | Poole | 1890 | 1) Cork std two tone Price/Powell2) Cork std twotone Bourne Denby
3) Cork Std twotone Lovatt & Lovatt 4) screw std two tone 5) screw std twotone Price 6) Crown cap cham two tone Price 7) Crown cap cham twotone Bourne Denby (small badge) 8) Crown cap cham twotone Bourne Denby (small badge) dump |
| Hants & Dorset Mineral Water Co ( Strong & Co) | 11 West St | Poole | 1935-1939 | 1) Crown cap cham two tone with badge2) Crown cap cham twotone no badeg |
| Portland Mineral Water Supply Co Ltd | Fortunes Well | Portland | 1903-1920 | 1) Cork Galtee Moore std whiteglaze Price |
Just one request to those Collectors, viewers, users and addicts alike please if you can help to add to the record let us know through the contacts page so the record may be kept up to date.
Use the information by all means but please credit the club and this site when doing so.
Dorset Antique Bottle Collectors Club 