Breweries.

~ Breweries ~ One result of the town's increasing population⁶ was the establishment of two breweries² in the 19th century. One of them, the Dalton Brewery, seems to have been in existence since at least 1844, on the site in Market Street that eventually became a cinema, first (in 1912) the Empire, and from 1936 the Roxy. In August 1998, the new Co-op supermarket was opened on the same site. The other one, the Beckside Brewery, situated at High Beckside must have been established at about the same time, but the precise date is not certain. Little seems to have been written about either brewery, but from the number of times they were advertised in the local newspapers as being for sale, a general impression is that from the 1860s onwards, they were not showing a worthwhile profit. Originally, however, the Dalton Brewery at least must have flourished, for its owner Mr. Matthew Denney soon acquired the ownership or substantial leases of several public houses³ and malt-kilns in the area including: the Anchor (Lindal⁴); the Miners Arms (Stainton³); the Brewers Arms and a cottage on Skelgate; the Railway Arms; the Lancaster Arms; and the Lord Nelson with two adjoining cottages.
It may be that Mr. Denney's troubles began with what must have been a disastrous fire in September 1869. At this time there was no fire-brigade in Dalton and the Barrow⁹ appliance was called out. It was reported as follows to the Gas and Water Committee of the Borough of Barrow:
An alarm of fire was given at the Station about 1 o'clock on Saturday morning last: the fire was out of the Borough, upon the premises of Mr. Matthew Denny, Brewer, Dalton. We left at 1.30, and had the engine at work in 35 minutes after. We had a plentiful supply of water and good assistance from volunteer leaver-men. The roof of the building was totally destroyed when we arrived and the whole contents, consisting of hay, straw, etc., were in one body of fire. In about an hour the fire was so much under as to enable us to stop the engine. At daylight I had all the hot hay etc. removed and stood by the engine in case of outbreak which did sometimes occur. At 7 0'clock the place was cleared and no sign of any fire: we returned to the station at 8 o'clock with 4 buckets short which I hope will be found. The engine worked remarkably well: we had not the slightest accident or breakdown. The Brigade were wanting for nothing and also worked very steady.

On 28th March 1899, all the loose brewing plant and equipment belonging to the Beckside Brewery³ was sold by auction, and from this date the brewery ceased to exist Seven attempts were made to dispose of the Dalton Brewery in the last 40 years of its existence, and it was finally disposed of in 1909 when it was bought by the Dalton Urban District Council to be demolished as part of a road widening scheme.
Next Part: (The Emergence of the Modern Town):- 'The Furness Railway'