IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Grafton Street, LIVERPOOL, L8 5SF

This is one of those tricky situations in Geograph when the gridline dividing two grid squares runs down the middle of a large building. In this case the 335000 Easting probably crosses straight through the brewery chimney and clips the corner of the steel security fence on the right. Sue's Image is a near identical view but submitted in Image So the façade on the left in Grafton Street and some of the façade facing the photographer are in this square, the remainder of that frontage being in the adjacent square. Sue has produced a thorough excellent interesting history of the brewery in her caption, to which I can add nothing! The Brewery Tap public house is set in the near corner of the building and the Cain's Brewery website is here http://www.cains.co.uk/index/

Close-up of the decorative terracotta on this building: Image

Brewery on the corner of Stanhope Street and Grafton Street. The building was started in 1883 and finished in 1902. Brewer Robert Cain arrived in Liverpool in 1826 with enough money to buy a pub with a brewhouse attached. He outgrew these premises in Limekiln Lane and relocated to this site, where Cain's beers are still produced.

Pulsatingly red or orangey-red, the earlier sections built c1887 for Robert Cain by James Redford, the showy front parts added in 1902, possibly to the designs of Walter Thomas. Extensive use of terracotta (Image]). On the corner is a pub, formerly the Grapes, now the Brewery Tap. Grade II listed Later taken over by Higson's, but subsequently re-branded as Cain's.

Red brick and terracotta, grade II listed building (English Heritage Building ID: 359562 http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-359562-grapes-public-house-higsons-brewery-#.VbIkwnnbKHs British Listed Buildings) originally built 1896-1902 for Robert Cain and Sons. Higsons Brewery was originally formed in 1780 at 64 Dale Street, Liverpool. The company moved here in 1914.

Born in County Cork in 1826, Robert Cain first arrived in Liverpool at the age of eighteen and from his modest pay as a merchant seaman he managed to accumulate sufficient funds to buy a pub with brewhouse attached in Limekiln Lane. He rapidly gained a reputation for his brewing skills and quickly became known throughout the city for the exceptional quality of his beers. By 1878 demand for his ales was such that he acquired an old established brewery on the current site. This is the landmark red brick brewery was built between 1883 and 1902 and was considered to be the most modern of the time. In 1911 Cains was merged with Walkers of Warrington forming a new company known as Walker Cain Ltd., production was transferred to Warrington and in 1923 the Stanhope Brewery was sold to Daniel Higson. In 1985 the Brewery was acquired by Boddingtons and in 1990 the Boddington brands were acquired by Whitbread, leaving the Brewery to close. In 1990 the Brewery was reopened by G.B. Brewers ltd and in 1991 was renamed Robert Cain & Co Ltd. The brewery produced a lusty and deservedly popular Liverpudlian pint but tight margins brought it to the brink of closure again in 2002 and that’s when the Dusanj brothers stepped in. Entrepreneurs, who started off in their father’s fish and chip business, the brothers were deeply affected by the story of Robert Cain & Company and felt that its demise would be a tragedy. Convinced not only that Liverpool could support its ‘own’ brewery but also that there was a wider market for the excellent beers it produced, they decided to mount a rescue operation. This proved to be spectacularly successful. Under the stewardship of the Dusanj brothers, Cains is now one of the fastest growing breweries in the country, with a £30 million annual turnover, 150 employees, and more than 120 million pints of beer brewed annually. The first Asian family ever to run a British brewery, the brothers are building on the fine traditions of excellent quality ales and the entrepreneurial spirit of Robert Cain, whilst using the freedom that being outside the traditional brewing establishment gives them to gently shake up the industry.

Boarded-up public house at junction of Stanhope Street and Caryl Street, Liverpool.

Once the Angel, with quite an ornate ground floor (Image]). Boarded up at the time lacking even any optimistic estate agent signs. Prominent behind is Image

Some detail on a defunct pub (Image]).