Firkin Brewery
The Firkin Brewery was a chain of pubs in the United Kingdom. The original UK chain is now defunct, but a number of pubs operate under the Firkin name in other countries. The chain took its name from the firkin, an old English unit of volume.
Established in 1979 by David Bruce as Bruce's Brewery, the Firkin Brewery grew as a chain of mostly brewpubs offering cask ale. It was acquired by European Leisure in 1988 and then by Allied Domecq in 1991, rapidly expanding thereafter.[1] In 1999, Punch Taverns bought the entire chain and the rights to the Firkin brand,[2] and then sold 110 of the pubs to Bass, leaving 60 Firkin pubs under Punch ownership.[3] The brewery side of the chain was wound up, and in March 2001 Punch announced that the Firkin brand was to be discontinued.[4]
Most of the pubs are now owned by Mitchells and Butlers (formerly Bass), and many have been rebranded as Scream, O'Neills or Goose pubs. Some of the Punch Taverns-owned Firkins were rebranded as Mr Q's or Bar Room Bar pubs. A small handful of establishments still retain the Firkin branding.
The pubs were distinguishable because they all followed the same naming convention: The ---- and Firkin, where ---- was usually a word, beginning with either "F" or "Ph", which had some connection to the pub building or to the local area.
Firkin pubs outside the UK
North America
Firkin pubs in Canada and the United States operate under the Firkin Group Of Pubs franchise, a chain of English theme pubs founded in Ontario, Canada in 1987.[5] The naming scheme for the pubs is similar to that of the UK chain, and many Firkin Group pubs in fact share their names with former UK Firkin Brewery pubs.
Australia
A number of independent English-style pubs in Australia use "Firkin" in their names, such as the Firkin and Hound in Alice Springs.[6]
List of UK Firkin pubs
| Firkin Name | Location | Current Name | Current Brand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fabricant and Firkin | Huddersfield | Warehouse | Scream |
| Faculty and Firkin | Aston University, Birmingham | Gosta Green | Scream |
| Factor and Firkin | Paisley | Clancy's | |
| Factotum and Firkin | Birmingham | The Hill | |
| Fahrenheit and Firkin | Woking | O'Neills | |
| Fair and Firkin | Nottingham | Horn In Hand | Scream |
| Falcon and Firkin | Hackney, London | The Victoria Park | |
| Faraday and Firkin | Battersea, London | The Goat | |
| Farmyard and Firkin | Aylesbury | The Harrow | |
| Fathom and Firkin | Worthing | The Assembly | |
| Fatling and Firkin | Hornchurch, London | ||
| Faun and Firkin | Leicester Square, London | Fudge | |
| Feast and Firkin | Leeds | The Library | Scream |
| Featherie and Firkin | St. Andrews | The Raisin | Scream |
| Fedora and Firkin | Luton | Bellini | |
| Felon and Firkin | Leeds | O'Neills | |
| Felons and Firkin | Knowle | The Red Lion | |
| Fermenter and Firkin | Wolverhampton | Billas Bar | |
| Ferret and Firkin (see note below) | Chelsea, London | Lots Road Pub and Dining Room | |
| Fettler and Firkin | Paddington, London | ||
| Fettlers and Firkin | Nuneaton | ||
| Fairfield and Firkin | Govan, Glasgow | ||
| Fez and Firkin | Reading | (now closed) | |
| Fiddler and Firkin | Croydon, London | The Duke's Head | Mr Q's |
| Fielder and Firkin | Sutton, London | The Prince Regent | |
| Fieldmouse and Firkin | Moseley, Birmingham | Goose | |
| Filament and Firkin | Newcastle | Goose | |
| Finch and Firkin | Liverpool | The Brookhouse | Scream |
| Finings and Firkin | Warley | The Bridge | |
| Finn and Firkin | Stirchley | The Hibernian | |
| Finnesko and Firkin | Norwich | The Reindeer | |
| Firecracker and Firkin | Crawley | The Railway | |
| Firefly and Firkin | Bournemouth | The Inferno | Scream |
| Fish and Firkin | Southend-on-Sea | The Alex | Scream |
| Fitchew and Firkin | Rugby, Warwickshire | The Bull | |
| Fitter and Firkin | Partick, Glasgow | Boho Club | |
| Fitzooth and Firkin | Broomhill, Sheffield | Nottingham House | |
| Fizgig and Firkin | Exeter | Starz Bar | |
| Flag and Firkin | Watford | The Flag | |
| Flamingo and Firkin | Kingston upon Thames, London | (now closed) | |
| Flapper and Firkin | Birmingham | ||
| Flare and Firkin | Aberdeen | The Holburn | Arena |
| Fledgling and Firkin | Hertford | Blackbirds | |
| Fleece and Firkin | Bristol | The Fleece | |
| Flicker and Firkin | Richmond upon Thames, London | The Lot | Scream |
| Flock and Firkin | Walsall | The Wheatsheaf | |
| Floozey and Firkin | Woodseats, Sheffield | Woodseats Hotel | |
| Flounder and Firkin | Holloway, London | Bar Cosa | |
| Fly and Firkin | Middlesbrough | Southfield | Scream |
| Flyhalf and Firkin | Cardiff | The Queen's Vaults | |
| Flyer and Firkin | Reading | Oakford Social Club | |
| Flyman and Firkin | Central London | O'Neills | |
| Fog and Firkin | Newcastle | Stereo Bar | |
| Font and Firkin | Brighton | ||
| Footage and Firkin (previously called The Flea and Firkin) |
Manchester | Footage | Scream |
| Ford and Firkin | Romford, London | (now closed) | |
| Forger and Firkin | Guildford | The Drummond Arms | |
| Forester and Firkin | Stafford | The Forester | |
| Fort and Firkin | Windsor | Browns | |
| Forum and Firkin | Bath | O'Neills | |
| Foundry and Firkin | Sheffield | Bar S1 | |
| Fourpence and Firkin | Leicester | O'Neills | |
| Fowl and Firkin | Coventry | The Aardvark | Scream |
| Fox and Firkin | Lewisham, London | ||
| Freelance and Firkin | Dundee | The Doghouse | |
| Fresher and Firkin | Cambridge | The Graduate | Scream |
| Friar and Firkin | Central London | The Rocket | Scream |
| Friesian and Firkin | Clapham, London | The Calf | |
| Fringe and Firkin | Shepherd's Bush, London | O'Neills | |
| Frog and Firkin | Central London | (now closed) | |
| Fruitmaker and Firkin | Glasgow | O'Neills | |
| Fuggle and Firkin | Oxford | Goose | |
| Fullback and Firkin | Leicester | Polar Bear | Scream |
| Fuzz and Firkin | Portsmouth | Goose | |
| Fuzzock and Firkin | Leicester | The Donkey | |
| Goose and Firkin | Southwark, London | The Duke of York | Shepherd Neame |
| Phantom and Firkin | London | (demolished 2002) | |
| Phantom and Firkin | Loughborough | Phantom | Scream |
| Pharaoh and Firkin | Fulham, London | (now closed) | O'Neills |
| Pheasant and Firkin | London | The Old Ivy House | |
| Philanderer and Firkin | Oxford | The Jericho | |
| Philanthropist and Firkin | St Albans | O'Neills | |
| Philatelist and Firkin | Bromley, London | O'Neills | |
| Philosopher and Firkin | Oxford | The University and City Arms | |
| Phoenix and Firkin | Camberwell, London | The Phoenix | |
| Photographer and Firkin | Ealing, London | O'Neills | |
| Phrenologist and Firkin | Slough | The Assembly | |
| Physician and Firkin | Edinburgh | The Crags | Scream |
| Physio and Firkin | Leicester | The Phizz! |
Note: The full name of the Ferret and Firkin, in Chelsea, was "The Ferret and Firkin in The Balloon Up The Creek". This referenced the original name of the pub - The Balloon - and its location, Chelsea Creek.
References
- ^ http://www.armfield.freeserve.co.uk/travel/firkin.htm
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1999/07/21/cnall21.html
- ^ http://www.cambridge-camra.org.uk/ale/296/industry1.html
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2000/09/01/cnfir01.xml
- ^ http://www.cfa.ca/FranchiseDetail.aspx?item=Firkin+Group+of+Pubs%2C+The
- ^ http://www.firkinhound.com/index.html