Scottish Brewing Archive

• Revised by Wiebke Redlich, Archive Assistant (Hub), 24 April 2002
• 8 June 2005 Catalogue record converted to EAD2002, May 2005
• Administrative history revised by Iain Russell, July 2006

Administrative/Biographical History

James Steel (1821–1891) inherited his father’s brewery in Tureen Street in Calton, Glasgow, in the 1840s. In 1853 he moved his brewing operations to the Greenhead Brewery in Canning Street, Glasgow, which he purchased from Robert Struthers.

In 1858 he acquired the Craigend Brewery in Cannongate in Edinburgh, from J & W Burnett. The Glasgow brewery specialised in the brewing of stouts and porters, while mild and pale ales were brewed in Edinburgh. George F Coulson joined Steel to form the partnership, Steel, Coulson & Co, in 1865.

In 1874, Steel, Coulson & Co sold the Craigend Brewery to Andrew Drybrough & Co and acquired the City of Edinburgh Brewery Co’s brewery on Abbey Hill in Edinburgh. The new brewery was renamed Croft–an–Righ ("The King’s Field"). Steel subsequently sold his interests in the business to Coulson, who became sole partner.

Coulson & Co Ltd was registered in May 1888 as a limited liability company to acquire the business at a purchase price of GBP 130,000. The joint managing directors were Frank and John Laurie Coulson, the sons of George (who had retired from the business). The company took over Robert Deuchar Ltd of the Sandyford Brewery in Newcastle–upon–Tyne in 1941. Most of the site of the Greenhead Brewery were leased to bottling companies in the 1930s, and the site was sold to James Calder & Co in 1946. Vaux & Associated Breweries Ltd, Sunderland, acquired a controlling interest in the company in 1956 and completed the acquisition in 1959. The company owned 16 licensed houses at this time.

The Croft–an–Righ Brewery ceased to brew in 1960 although Vaux continued to make beers in the Steel Coulson name at the Park Brewery in Edinburgh. The maltings and bottling plant at the site continued in use until 1966, when the remaining buildings associated with the brewery were demolished.

Sources:
McMaster, Charles and Kane, T Dan, ‘Steel, Coulson & Co Ltd: Part 1: The Greenhead Brewery, Glasgow’, Scottish Brewing Archive Newsletter No. 13, (Winter 1988–1989).
McMaster, Charles and Kane, T Dan, ‘Steel, Coulson & Co Ltd: Part 2: The Croft–an–Righ Brewery, Edinburgh’, Scottish Brewing Archive Newsletter No. 14, (Spring 1989).
Richmond, Lesley and Turton, Alison (eds), The Brewing Industry. A Guide to Historical Records, (Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 1990).

Scope and Content

• Corporate records, 1888–1955
• Shareholding records, 1895–1974
• Financial records, 1934–1960
• Production records, 1937–1955
• Staff records, 1947–1957
• Licensed premises records, 1954–1960
• Property records, 1987
• Promotional material, 1861–1960s
• Public relations, 1987
• Family papers (research notes), 1996
• Photographs, 1895–1970s

Fonds–Level Description Compilation Details