Irish Brewing People of the Past - #2 Eliza Alley

The history of Irish brewing is no stranger to women. There is much talk and commentary regarding the brew wives of the far past, and some mention of those who brew in the present - although it could be argued not enough - but there are scant mentions of those who brewed in the two centuries previous to our current one, and specifically in the 19th, where as we shall see, some women had the business of brewing thrust upon them. Dr. Christina Wade in her book Filthy Queens is hugely focussed on the role of women in brewing, and the book certainly champions their cause repeatedly - and rightly. And those who may feel there has been too much commentary on women in brewing would do well to remember that to get a well-worn gate that has seen too much on-way traffic to hang straight you need to sprain the hinges the opposite way, almost to breaking point, in order to get it to sit evenly in the middle of its post.

One of the women featured in the good doctor’s book is a lady called Eliza Alley, who I have written about previously - and that piece was nicely referenced in one chapter. I had come across Eliza’s name while researching who brewed Ireland’s first ‘IPA’ - or more correctly who was the first to advertise such a style of beer by that name or similar. At that time I focused on the beer itself, a little on the brewery and some of its history but always felt there was more to commit to history about Eliza herself. So here we go …

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Eliza Humphreys was born in 1796 or 1797, the 5th daughter of William Humphreys - sadly I can’t be sure of her mother’s name. Her father was a prominent wool merchant in the city of Dublin and shortly after her birth bought Ballyhaise estate in county Cavan, and appears to have divided his time between Dublin and Ballyhaise House. His business was situated at 17 Merchant’s Quay in the city and he also had property on Gardiner’s Row/Place. The family were Church of Ireland (protestant) and, interestingly, it appears that his son William (Eliza's brother) was Grand Master of the Orange Order in Cavan in the 1850s, so the family would seem to have been quite involved in the organisation - probably not an unusual thing for the merchant and land-owning class at this time.

Eliza married William Alley in 1821 in the wonderfully grand St. George's Church in the north-east of Dublin city. William was the son of Alderman, High Sheriff and Mayor John Alley - another merchant and prominent individual in the city of Dublin, who was also a brewer. They had at least ten children over 14 years - John, William, Letitia, Catherine, Henry, Eliza, Matilda, Robert, Caroline, and another Caroline (presumably the first having died as a baby) although not all survived to adulthood. They lived in Clontarf and at one time owned Ivy House, a six-bedroom house with pleasure grounds and a walled garden, as well as a coach house and some farm buildings.

In 1823, William Alley succeeded his father in the brewery in Townsend Street following the latter’s death, and at this time he was brewing ‘Strong Ale, Porter and Table Beer’. Brewing was a family business for the Alleys, as William's brother John refitted a brewery belonging to the wonderfully named Mr. Wigglesworth in Ardee Street in 1824, it having also been occupied by a Mr. Richard Pim (a surname of importance in Irish brewing) and an advertisement mentions that his father had been brewing in the city for 30 years, so it appears the brewery on Townsend Street could date from at least the late 18th century and was certainly owned by John Alley in by the very first years of the 19th century. John junior was bankrupt by 1827, so his venture didn't last too long. Interestingly he wasn't brewing porter, just ale and table beer which may explain its failure, given how porter was the dominant drink in this period.

But tragedy struck on the 18th of June 1836 when William died at the age of only 39, leaving Eliza with a large young family to raise. Undeterred, she embraced the ownership of the brewery, and mere days after William’s burial she took out advertisements letting friends and customers know that the brewery would continue, and trusting that their patronage would continue. A year later she was thanking those who 'encouraged her to persevere in the arduous undertaking in which she engaged for the advancement of her numerous family’ and goes on to assure them that the 'malt drink manufactured at her establishment is of the very best quality.' Mysteriously, in a separate advertisement below this she cautions 'her friends and the public against the misrepresentations of a clerk who was lately in her employment and whom she was obliged to discharge, for conduct that it would not be to his credit to explain, but which she is ready to do if called upon. This person is now in another establishment and is, she is informed, endeavouring, by gross misstatements, to induce her customers to withdraw their support but she feels happy in the conviction that all his efforts to do so will prove futile, and only tend to expose his own character.' Whatever occurred in the brewery it appears that Eliza was aggrieved by the episode, and it certainly shows and edge to her strength of character and resolve. 

By early November of 1837 she was looking for a brewer to brew ‘fine ales, beer, and porter’ and by the end of the month she had taken on a Mr. Harrower 'a brewer of great experience and well-known ability’ as head brewer. It is worth noting of course that Eliza would not have been brewing any beer herself, and nor would many of the names we associate with Irish breweries, as almost all would have employed talented brewers to produce their beers, regardless of their gender by the way. These entities were for the most past business people who employed others to execute their wishes and needs, as with any similar business.

Although it appears that neither her or William’s family were short of money it was important that the business continue and succeed in order to have a constant revenue for both herself and her large family and a sense of that can be obtained from the announcement of her employment of Mr. Harrower where she thanks those who have supported the business and ‘have marked their approbation of her exertions, and encouraged her to persevere in the arduous undertaking’ of running the brewery. She assures her customers and friends that ‘her unceasing efforts shall be directed, and her best attention given, to merit a continuance of that patronage which she with pride and gratitude acknowledges.’ Eliza’s character again shows through here, as well as her driven nature, and she appears to have been quite hands on with the running of the business.

Eliza remarried another respected merchant, Henry Cochran of Merchant's Quay, in 1838 back in her father’s home of Ballyhaise in Cavan. (Curiously, Henry dealt in Wool like Eliza’s father and he even operated from the same premises – so there was clearly an existing family or business connection here.) The brewery was trading under the name of Eliza Alley, Sons & Co. and although Eliza was still actively involved in the business, Mr. Cochran also seems to have been involved in the management of the enterprise to some extent. Her oldest sons, John and William would have been 16 and 15 at this time, so were unlikely to have been very much involved in the business, although it’s clear from the brewery’s name that they were to be very much included in the business in the future – although obviously not her daughters!

A curious incident occurred in late 1838 when a man was charged with firing a pistol into the brewery from a nearby building. This was the second time with weeks that this had occurred and intimidating letters had also been sent to Eliza, although it is not clear if there was a connection between the events. Reports of the events indicate the possibly weren't linked, but it does seem that Eliza had her enemies and detractors given this episode and the earlier issue.

But what makes Eliza and her brewery stand out in Irish brewing history is that newspaper mention in 1842 of having ‘East India Beer’ for sale. This was said to be ‘of superior quality and will be found to be very similar to that justly celebrated article “Hodgson’s pale ale”'. This is clearly what we would now term an India Pale Ale or IPA, and seems to be the first mention (at least) of the style being brewed in Ireland, and it occurred during the stewardship of a woman owner, which is also of note. Whether this new brewing was her choice, driven my market forces (this style of beer was certainly being imported into the country by this time), the possible involvement or her two youngish sons in seeing new trends, or a decision by the resident brewer at that time, we will never know but it certainly started a trend in pale well-hopped ales that lasted in Ireland until the early 1960s or so, and returned to us in the latter part of the last century.

In September of 1847 Eliza was once again a widow, as her second husband Henry died of fever that month. But the brewery itself appears to have been doing relatively well and by 1850 they were exporting to England and had acquired a royal warrant, claiming in their advertisements to be ‘sole brewers in Ireland to her most gracious majesty.’ They were brewing ‘Strong XX Ale, Plain Ale, Bitter Ale, Strong XX Porter, Plain Porter and Table Beer’ at that time. Advertisements listed the business as E. Alley, Sons, & Co., and whether the abbreviated first name is an attempt to hide the fact that it was owned by a woman is certainly possible if not provable, and at this point it is highly likely that her sons John and William were involved in the brewery business.

But, like the majority of breweries in Ireland, it wasn't to last, as the brewing equipment was for sale in 1853 and near the end of 1855 the brewery property was in chancery and being sold along with houses at number 55, 56, and 57 Townsend Street, where an advertisement states that the entire property takes in 141 feet of Townsend Street, 213 feet on Prince's Street, 123 feet on South Gloucester Street. This, along with the large number of utensils and equipment for sale, gives us a nice footprint for the substantial size of the business. Eliza Cochran, as she was then known, appears to have been still at the helm and still active in the business at this time.

But perhaps everything finally took its toll, as Eliza died relatively young at the age of 59 on the 30th of June 1856 at Redmondstown House, Clomel, Co. Tipperary, the home of her daughter Eliza and son-in-law, William P. Worrall. Her burial - like that of her first husband - took place in Clontarf, Dublin.

But Eliza and Williams’s legacy in brewing continued, just much further afield. Their sons John and William both left Dublin for America and were involved - separately - in breweries in Boston. John Robinson Alley in particular fronted a number of breweries in the area and the name Alley was once again hung over a brewery business.

But what of the property where Ireland’s first 'IPA' was brewed? By the 1870s at least some of the property was being used by Wheeler & Shanks - later J. Shanks & Co - who were operating from 54 to 56 Townsend Street in 1882 selling alcohol free beverages such as the wonderfully sounding 'Export' Ginger Ale. They were still there in 1898 advertising mineral waters of all types and by 1901 no. 56 Townsend Street was home to an agency for the Deli Brewery in Amsterdam's 'Pilsner and Lager' beers.

No trace of the brewery now exists, as a relatively new development sits on the site of this once important Irish enterprise.

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It’s a pity that the names of brewery owners, both male and female, seem to have been lost to us. Over the years consolidation and rebranding means that just one handful of Irish brewer’s name remain and are remembered by most Irish beer drinkers. Eliza and William, and his father John, deserve to be recorded and name-checked in the long list of Dublin brewers that have risen and fallen through the years and centuries. Ironically, it’s probably their son John Robinson Alley who is best remembered and written about in brewing circles, albeit and the other side of the Atlantic.

But perhaps, just perhaps, we should raise a toast in memory of Eliza the next time we pour an Irish IPA.

Liam

Please note, all written content and the research involved in publishing it here is my own unless otherwise stated and cannot be reproduced elsewhere without permission, full credit to its source, and a link back to this post. Research was via The British Newspaper Archive and Irish Genealogy, both online. Some content was used and adapted from my earlier mentioned post on who brewed Ireland's first IPA. All sources are available on request. DO NOT STEAL THIS CONTENT!