Burtonwood Brewery Co
Brewery, of Newton-le-Willows
1867 James Forshaw and Jane Forshaw purchased the land for what became the Burtonwood Brewery
1880 James died and the business was carried on by his widow Jane, and their nephew Richard Forshaw, who in 1881 was described as the bookkeeper.
1890 Jane remarried, to the vicar of Burtonwood, Rev. William Wilson. Richard Forshaw, with the aid of a small legacy from his father, purchased the Company from her.
1895 Burtonwood became one of the first of the local breweries to produce bottled beers and they were an immediate success.
By 1907 the brewery was producing some 200 barrels per week.
1912 the Company became one of the first to acquire a motor lorry: a Pagefield lorry
Post-WWI Richard and his eldest son, Tom, continued to expand the business in Lancashire and Cheshire. His younger son, Richard Dutton-Forshaw, founded the Burtonwood Engineering Co in 1922 but remained a director.
1930 Richard died and Tom Forshaw took over and expanded into North Wales and bought over 100 public houses in the North Wales and Anglesey area.
1949 The brewery was renamed Burtonwood Brewery Co. (Forshaws) Limited
1964 The company went public
1998 Formation of Thomas Hardy Burtonwood by management buyout of Burtonwood plc in conjunction with Thomas Hardy Brewery & Packaging of Dorchester (formed in 1997)
June 1999 Formation of Thomas Hardy Services, Tiverton & leasing of assets from Whitbread
June 1999 Acquired assets from Scotco to form Thomas Hardy Kendal