History
James Senior & the Brewery
The 2 brothers became very wealthy running the Sovereign Brewery, as it expanded and employed more and more local people. As well as work in the brewery and offices, men were employed as waggoners, collecting ingredients brought by the new railway further down the village, near Abbey Road. They also delivered beer to public houses.
The Seniors owned many pubs in the area (54 by 1946) and so supplied them with Sovereign ales and employed landlords to run them.
Many men were also employed at the Maltings. This was near the railway and was where barley was made into malt for beer making. The Seniors looked after their employees very well and a row of 8 houses, each with its own pigsty and allotment, was built by the Maltings for the workers and their families.
The Seniors had their own gas works which supplied the brewery and all houses owned by them with gas. The Malt Shovel Inn, the Black Bull, and the Conservative Club, which was built with money donated by the Seniors was also supplied with this gas.
Many locals were employed at this gas works and they were also provided with houses built by the Seniors. The Seniors also owned a farm which supplied Shepley Co-op Butchers with much of their meat.
All this property required maintenance and so full time builders, joiners and painters were also employed.
The old Conservative Club, Shepley 2003
Reuben Senior died in 1888, just 10 years after his father. His 2 sons, Henry & Thomas, became partners in the business, but James was the chairman of the company.
James was by now, a very rich man, owning large amounts of land and property in the Shepley area. One of his pieces of land was known as Laithe Croft. In 1871, when Shepley cricket club had been formed, he had allowed them to use this land as their cricket ground. In 1888, the year of his brother’s death, James asked the cricket club to find a new site as he wished to use the land to build a house fit for one of the richest families in the area. In 1889, this house, known as the Cliffe was completed. Today, we know it as Cliffe House.
Cliffe House as in 2003
The owners of Lane Head House, the Firths, kindly offered the tinsmith and his wife shelter in the loft above the coach house. A baby boy was born to the couple and was named Seth.
The grateful tinsmith did many odd jobs for the Firths in return for their kindness. They stayed at Lane Head House until the spring when Mr. Firth gave the family a gold sovereign. They used this money to rent a cottage at the top of the hill. It was from this cottage that Seth Senior started to brew his beer.
The Sovereign Brewery proved very successful, and demand was soon too great for the cottage to cope with. Seth then bought a nearby site at Piper’s Well Road in Highfield. Before long, he was able to purchase still more land at Lowfield giving him 2 brewery sites. The main site was the Highfield one which included offices, loading bays etc as well as the main brewery.
Sketch map of the area
The brewery was famous for its bottled ales and fruit drinks. Lemonade, sold in narrow necked glass bottles with marble stoppers was produced but as business flourished, ginger beer, soda, seltzer water and hop ale was sold. Over 1000 barrels of fine ales and beers were produced each week.
A carving said to be of Seth but since lost during alterations to the Sovereign Inn, used to be found over the archway of the Seniors’ cottage.
The lost carving – Seth Senior?
Seth & Martha had 11 children all told and 2 of their sons, Reuben & James, joined their father in running the brewery. They took over The Sovereign Brewery after Seth’s death in 1878.