Page 9 - BBR magazine 140 - 30yrs issue

Barrett... & Adams... & Elers...
& Codd... & Rawlings
Barrett’s Country Bottling Co based at 16 Victoria Street, London was registered in 1886 to take over the Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester businesses of Barrett and Co.
Henry Barrett patented his flat headed internal
screw thread in 1879 and made several updates
utilising the same basic method of moulding
vulcanite, xylonite, lionite or celluloid. The Bristol
business was closed in 1889 and in April 1912 the
whole company was wound up at a meeting chaired
by Edward Rawlings - another name found on
mineral water bottles other than ones with marbles.
The bottling plant, designed by Henry Stopes (architect, palaeontologist, brewer and, incidentally, father of sexual health campaigner Marie Stopes) in Walworth Road in London was once topped by a giant rotating beer bottle, with red and blue flashing lights on it. Struck by a Zeppelin in January 1918, it had made ‘Monastery Ginger Beer’ named after an ancient monastery on the site part of which survived in their store rooms. The remaining buildings were demolished in the 1970’s.
Exactly which Barrett you are dealing with is sometimes a little difficult to disentangle since the name Richard Henry Barrett tends to pop up in references to the bottle manufacturer. The Barrett name was associated with the first internally stoppered bottle patented in 1868 by John Adams and Barrett; shortly afterwards, when Adams’ estate was assigned to Charles Elers, the patent became Barrett and Elers’ (the early 1870’s dates often quoted for Barrett’s patent is associated with the Elers’ partnership not his scew stopper).
July, 1872, Hiram Codd together with Richard Henry Barrett of London (a printer, who held half the rights) filed a patent for “improvements in bottles for
containing Aerated or Effervescing Liquid”. It was Richard’s two sons who owned the Malvern Mineral Water Co. at Grove Lane,
Camberwell, that persuaded Richard to sign up; Codd’s Camberwell factory was run by Richard’s son F. Barrett and Henry
was presumably the other?
Right: Bright green handled bottle, with rear embossing (above) depicting
Barrett & Elers screw stopper -
a flat headed screw thread
patented in 1879 - close up detail below L..
This bottle is found
in two
sizes, and also in amber
glass.
Below L: Most everyones idea of a Barrett & Elers bottle relates to the stick patent - as depicted on this ‘London & Jersey’ bottle. Below R: An exceptionally rare ‘Adams & Barretts/
Jersey/ Patent.’ Late Garth Morrison
Collection
Above: Trio of ‘Rice Bros/ Southsea’ Adams & Barrett patents, two with original wooden stoppers.
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