Posted: Fri 11 May, 2007 4:32 pm
I am trying to track down and record as many of these as I can.Please let me know of any you think I may have missed.For many years, and especially the first half of the 20th century, brewing in Leeds was firmly concentrated on two rival breweries - Tetley's and Melbourne. There were other breweries of course - Hemingways and Kirkstall/Dutton's spring to mind and many breweries outside Leeds were keen to have outlets in the City , such as John Smiths, Sam Smiths, Ind-coope, Bentleys, Hammonds, Ramsdens etc - but they were small beer(!) as the majority of Leeds pubs came under the Tetley/Melbourne 'Duopoly'. So often old pictures of Leeds feature pubs or adverts on shops/trams/buses etc which display the Tetley 'Huntsman' or Melbournes' 'bowing Courtier'I am too young to remember Melbournes - it was taken over by Tetleys in 1960( I believe this is the right year) but having spoken to many , including pub landlords, who did remember it:I believe the rivalry between the two breweries was quite intense (bitter??!). It could even lead to devotees of one beer having the attitude of "I'll do wi'out before I sup that muck!" toward the other breweries products!Nearly Fifty years on I suppose it is surprising how much evidence of Melbourne's still exists - evidence of how common they once were - but of course they're disappearring all the time as pubs close or are altered. This is particularly true of the windows - where it only takes one p*ssed - up idiot to throw his bottle of carlsberg on a Friday night and a piece of history is lost for ever.Anyway enough from me -on with the motley..