Early transport by horse drawn drays was severely limited. The horses could deliver barrels a maximum radius from a Brewery of only around 12 miles in a day. This determined the catchment area of each brewery or later distribution depot. Longer distances had to be covered by canal or by train. Rapidly improving means of transport was a key driving factor in the early consolidation of Breweries. The last working horse drawn dray was retired from its remaining ceremonial role in 1960. Even in 1959, transport remained so limited that H&G Simonds still ran 4 Breweries in its South West England region.
The Simonds Dray Horses were always Greys.
Here are a few images from the archives that graphically display the dramatic change in our transport infrastructure over 100 years. Please do share with me other archives you may find out there:
This lovely clip from the Reading Standard of 1986 was contributed by a visitor to the site:
As was this clip of the Drays on parade in 1958. George Thomson & Alfred Hunt are the drivers.
Here is a later clip from 1996, about the ERP fleet and its characters!
And some archived images:
1880’s Dray outside Griffin Pub in Caversham
1890’s Oxford drays
1907 Dray at Tilshead Camp, Wiltshire
1900c Simonds Donkey Cart in Malta [original photo]
1900’s Malta, Donkey delivery!
1907 Tilshead Camp, Wilts, Dray close up
1907 Dray at Tilshead Camp, Wiltshire – poignant card text
1910c Steam Dray with driver Les Elwes
1910c Steam Dray with draymen
1910’s A Foden Steam Dray
1924 A Foden steam dray
1912 Simonds drays serve troops
1920 6ton steam driven flat wagon
1920c dray at Royal Berkshire Regiment
1920c dray at Royal Berkshire Regiment
1920’s Dray at Southern Railway bonded store, Reading Station. Date unknown.
1924 Steam dray
1928 Dray Leyland Q-type in Bridge St. yard
1920’s Tanker & tug
1928 Tanker & trailer
1928 Gibraltar van 1
1928 Gibraltar van 2
1929 6 ton Tanker
1930’s row of ERF trucks at Bridge Street
1930 Dray & drivers
1930’s Jock Bennet & Truck. Can you tell me about the truck?
1933 Tanker & trailer
1931 Dray, driver is Punch Hawthorne
1935 Tractor
1936 ERF tug [1] restored 1988
1936 ERF tug [2] restored
1936 ERF tug [3]
1936 ERF tug trailer restored
1936 ERF tug restored
About 1941 Dray 4
1940’s ERF Tug & Tanker
1940’s Fordson Fire pump & tractor 2
1940’s Fordson Fire pump & tractor
1944 Fordson Fire pump & tractor
1950 ‘Pluto’ system at Goodwood
1950 Geordie Thompson , Alf Hunt and Billy Rose, the taller building to the right was the Electrician’s workshop with the First Aid post below
1950’s David Brown tractor used to shuttle malt from the Maltings in Fobney Street to the Brew house in Bridge Street. Driven by Fred Turner and Fred Cook!
1950’s David Brown Tractor with Simonds built cab, refurbished at Worton Grange
1959 ERF tanker delivering to the Queen Elizabeth. proudly driven by Albert Walter Mason (1899-1973)
1950’s Dray
1960c Dray horses, Tinker & Trixie
1960c Dray in yard
1960’s Simonds Dray
1961c Dray in brewery yard + Tinker & Trixie
1960 Dray in last show
1960c Dray refurb wheel
1960c Dray in Brewery yard
1960c Dray refurb
1961c Dray horses
1960c Dray refurb
1961c Dray horses
1961 Last 2 drays on parade
1960 Malta Transport
1960’s Vincent’s garage car park
1960’s Erf Tanker leaving to Martins Brewery in Belgium with a load of Bulldog Pale Ale
1962c Courage dray & elephant
1962 ERF tanker Simonds Pale Ale – Belguim
1965 Farsons Malta van, restored
1979 RTW 185
2008 Bus JXN 325 RT935 at Midhurst
2018 Beau Dray, shown by Eversley Shires is a restored Simonds Dray dated 1903, similar to that show in 1907 above
undated Delivery to Welsh pub, 1962-3
It is interesting to note the vehicle registration plates mostly show the letters ‘*DP’ meaning they were first registered in Reading. The 3 letter + 3 number combination plate was abandoned in 1963 when available options started to run out.