es, in addition to the well-known Crosswells Brewery of
Messrs Walter Showell and Sons, noted in next paragraph. The principal
Vinegar Brewery in Birmingham is that of Messrs. Fardon and Co.
(Limited), in Glover Street, which was formed in 1860, and is well
worthy of the stranger's visit. The annual output is about 850,000
gallons, there being storage for nearly a million gallons, and 36,000
casks to send the vinegar out in.

~Brewery at Crosswells.~--Though by far the most extensive brewery
supplying Birmingham, the Crosswells cannot claim to be more than in the
infancy of its establishment at present, as only twelve years ago the
many acres of ground now covered by its buildings formed but part of an
unenclosed piece of waste land. Nevertheless, the spot was well-known
and often visited in ancient times, on account of the wonderful and
miraculous cures said to have been effected by the free use of the water
gushing up from the depths of the springs to be found there, and which
the monks of old had christened "The Wells of the Cross." Be its
medicinal qualities what they might in the days before Harry the Eighth
was king, the Cross Wells water retained its name and fame for centuries
after the monks were banished and the burly king who drove them out had
himself turned to dust. It has always been acknowledged as one of the
purest waters to be found in the kingdom; but its peculiar and special
adaptability to the brewing of "good old English cheer" was left to be
discovered by the founder of the firm of Messrs. Walter Showell and
Sons, who, as stated before, some twelve years back, erected the nucleus
of the present extensive brewery. Starting with the sale of only a few
hundred barrels per week, the call for their ales soon forced the
proprietors to extend their premises in order that supply should meet
demand. At first doubled, then quadrupled, the brewery is now at least
ten times its original size; and a slight notion of the business carried
on may be gathered from the fact that the firm's stock of barrels tots
up to nearly 60,000 and is being continually increased, extensive
cooperages, blacksmiths' shops, &c., being attached to the brewery, as
well as malthouses, offices, and storehouses of all kinds. The head
offices of the firm, which are connected by telephone with the brewery,
as well as with the stores at Kingston Buildings, Crescent Wharf, are
situated in Great Charles Street, and thus the Crosswells Brewery