JiscMail Logo
Email discussion lists for the UK Education and Research communities

Help for MINING-HISTORY Archives


MINING-HISTORY Archives

MINING-HISTORY Archives


mining-history@JISCMAIL.AC.UK


View:

Message:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

By Topic:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

By Author:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

Font:

Proportional Font

LISTSERV Archives

LISTSERV Archives

MINING-HISTORY Home

MINING-HISTORY Home

MINING-HISTORY  2000

MINING-HISTORY 2000

Options

Subscribe or Unsubscribe

Subscribe or Unsubscribe

Log In

Log In

Get Password

Get Password

Subject:

Re: Tyne Main

From:

Tony Brewis <[log in to unmask]>

Reply-To:

The mining-history list.

Date:

Fri, 1 Dec 2000 17:55:03 -0500

Content-Type:

text/plain

Parts/Attachments:

Parts/Attachments

text/plain (85 lines)

The information I have on Tyne Main is indirect, in that my father,
a GP, sold all his shares to his sister, so I have no direct links to
the company.  What I can tell you is this:

My grandfather, George Brewis, born in 1852, was the seventh child 
a Northumberland sheep farmer.  A remote cousin has done a
family tree going back to a marriage in 1593 and all the ancesters, 
he says, "were peasants".  George's father Robert "farmed 
Coombhills and Carter Moor".  George was evidently not going to 
inherit the farm so, having trained as an accountant, he went down 
to London "to make his fortune".

He started a coal merchanting buisiness.  As deliveries were 
house-to-house in horse-drawn carts, he invited three brothers
to come down to join him, their farming experience coming in useful
when it came to looking after horses.  They first formed "Brewis Brothers"
and later "Tyne Main Coal Co."

The "Trades" section of the Post Office Directory for London for the
late nineteenth century lists Coal Merchants, Coal Owners, Coal Factors 
and Coal Dealers. To answer Richard Kelham's question,  Brewis 
Brothers and  Tyne Main are both listed as a Coal Merchants.

The first entry, in 1875, is for Brewis Brothers, at a single address, 
11 Coal Depot, York Road, N.  By 1882, Brewis Brothers were at
six addresses.

The first entry for the Tyne Main Coal Co. (George Brewis, Manager)
is in 1878, and gives its addresses as 24 St. Pancras Road; 288
Holloway Road and 21A New Kent Road.  By 1882 about 20 addresses
are given -- in Pancras Rd; Great Portland St; Holloway rd; Notting Hill;
New Kent Road; Essex Rd; Roman Rd; Amelia St, Walworth; Fulham Rd; 
Old Ment Road; St. John's Wood; Wilton Rd, Pimlico; Wandworth Rd;
Kentish Town; Cornwall Terrace, Harrow Rd; Graham St, City Rd; Goswell
Rd and Walworth Rd SE.

Later (1889) a third company came on the scene, namely Carrick Davies 
& Partners. This company is listed by the Post Office as a Coal Owner. Its
office was at 103 Pancras Road.

By 1900, Tyne Main's office was at 2A Pancras Road, Brewis Brothers were
at 2B Pancras Road, and Carrick Davies was at 2C Pancras Road.

Most domestic purchases of coal were made at the small local offices,
usually
near railway sidings where the coal was brought by rail for bagging and 
delivery by horse and cart.  The story goes that the three companies 
maintained three separate offices at many such sites.  Then, if a housewife
was disgruntled with the coal delivered by Tyne Main, she might cancel
her order, and go next door, placing her trade with Brewis Brothers, for 
example. Whichever she chose, the profits ended up at No 2 Pancras Road,
so everyone was happy.

I only had time, on my visit to the Bishopsgate Library, to trace the
companies 
through to 1930, at which point they were still at 2A, 2B and 2C Pancras
Road, 
although from 1922 Carrick Davies was re-classified as a Coal Merchant.

All of which is a roundabout way of saying, in reply to Mike Syer, that I
do not 
think there was any commercial connection between Tyne Main the London 
coal merchants and a colliery of that name in Gateshead, although, as a 
Northumberland sheep farmer's son, my grandfather might well have heard of 
the latter and thought it a good name -- I guess some of the coal he sold
did 
come from the northeast, although my father did once say that he had 
interests in coal mines in the Chesterfield area.

When i was with W.S. Aktins & Partners in the 1960/70s, we had a study 
regarding Rexco smomeless fuel, and this was marketed in the London area 
by Tyne Main, then based in Morden, where I went to see them. The man I 
had arranged to see remarked on the co-incidence of surnames, and I said
"not really -- that is a photograph of my grandfather you have on the wall
over there!"

Tyne Main did not move with the times. Whereas Charringtons took up the 
delivery of heating oil to compensate for the fall-off in demand for
domestic
coal, Tyne Main tried diversifying, not very successfully, into garden
centres.
I believe  Brewis Brothers was finally wound up about ten years ago.

Tony Brewis

Top of Message | Previous Page | Permalink

JiscMail Tools


RSS Feeds and Sharing


Advanced Options


Archives

April 2024
March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
October 2022
September 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998


JiscMail is a Jisc service.

View our service policies at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/ and Jisc's privacy policy at https://www.jisc.ac.uk/website/privacy-notice

For help and support help@jisc.ac.uk

Secured by F-Secure Anti-Virus CataList Email List Search Powered by the LISTSERV Email List Manager