Do you recognise these old Tolly Cobbold pubs?
Tolly Cobbold Brewery in 1999, before it closed down permanetly in 2002 - Credit: PAUL NIXON
The Ipswich waterfront was once home to a brewery that supplied beer to watering houses around the county.
Beginning in 1746 and continuing for more than 250 years, at first Cobbold, and then Tolly Cobbold brewed beer that kept booze flowing at hundreds of pubs across the counties of Suffolk and Essex.
Formed from the merger of the Tollymarche and Cobbold breweries in 1957, the company brewed its beer at Cliff Brewery on the waterfront.
Cliff Brewery, as it stood in 2015 before it was severely damaged in a fire - Credit: Sarah Lucy brown
While the building was badly damaged by a fire in 2020, the former Cliff Brewery is set to be converted into a care home.
An outside view of the Ship Launch pub Picture: ARCHANT - Credit: Archant
Tolly Cobbold ran popular pubs in Ipswich including the Ship Launch, which was located near to the brewery on the north side of the waterfront and mainly served dock workers, and the Old Bell Inn, which was located next to Stoke Bridge.
The bar staff ready to pull pints at the Ship Launch pub in 1974 Picture: ARCHANT - Credit: Archant
Some of the company's Ipswich pubs, built as part of a large expansion during the 1930s, were known as Tolly Follies. These were built in a mock baronial style and had distinct chimneys.
The Cricketers, the Golden Hind, and the Suffolk Punch are all examples of Tolly Follies.
The Millers Arms closed in 1936, but the Cricketers remains - Credit: Archant
Some of the breweries other pubs in the town survived after Tolly Cobbold, with new owners taking them on.
New Cut West, Ipswich, in June 1948, with the Steam Boat Tavern at the corner of Felaw Street. Did you live in the now demolished houses in the background. - Credit: Archant
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These included the Case is Altered in Woodbridge Road, the Dove in St Helen's Street, the Steam Boat Tavern in New Cut East, and the Woolpack in Tuddenham Road.
Landlord Peter Lockwood and Groom Tony Moore outside the Woolpack in Ipswich in 1990 - Credit: Archant
The brewery also ran pubs in the surrounding towns — including thirteen in Woodbridge at its peak.
The Kings Head in Woodbridge is now owned by Tolly Cobbolds former rival Adnams. - Credit: Lucy Taylor
Some of these — including the Anchor, Cherry Tree, Angel, and Kings Head — still exist, while others like the Royal Oak, Queens Head, and Prince of Wales have closed.
Crowds enjoying a folk night at the Brantham Bull in April 1972 - Credit: Archant
Other well-known pubs operated by the brewery included the Fludyer's Arms and Ferryboat in Felixstowe, the Beehive Inn in East Bergholt, and the Brantham Bull.
Do you have any memories of the old Tolly Cobbold pubs? Contact me at Timothy.Bradford@archant.co.uk
