‘Britains biggest brewery tray collector’ is on the hunt for local Buckinghamshire brewery trays

Richard Percival, who lives in Aylesbury, is Britain’s leading collector of brewery trays and pre-World War Two brewery memorabilia.
By Thomas Bamford
Published 27th Mar 2020, 12:55 GMT
Updated 30th Mar 2020, 11:04 GMT
What a collection!What a collection!
What a collection!

He has been collecting them for over 40 years, amassing a huge collection.

He has also made appearances on the TV programme Antiques Road Trip.

Like all of us, Richard is currently locked down because of the Coronavirus pandemic and wanted to put the word out of a few brewery trays he’s trying to trace.

Richard PercivalRichard Percival
Richard Percival

Richard said: “With the virus now hitting hard I thought I’d take the opportunity to try again and see if any of your readers could help me locate any one of about 80 trays I still need in order to make my collection complete.

“Either that or replace trays that in poor condition.

“The utopia would be to locate a tray from Thomas Salt & Co Ltd, brewers from Burton-on-Trent, who distributed their beers throughout the UK through the Victorian and Edwardian eras up until closure in 1927.

“The above tray is the one I seek most due to the fact that I collect anything from this particular brewery including, ashtrays, matchstrikers, coasters, mirrors and adverts/showcards.”

RIchard's beer tray collectionRIchard's beer tray collection
RIchard's beer tray collection

However Richard is looking more locally, specifically, any trays from the old High Wycombe Breweries.

This includes trays and memorabilia from:

-Wheeler’s Wycombe Breweries LTD from Easton Street in High Wycombe

-Hancock Corfield & Waller, B.A.T.Co Ltd, Causton

-Wm Brownlie

He added: “I would love to find trays from the following old High Wycombe Brewery: Wheeler’s Wycombe Breweries Ltd once of Easton Street in High Wycombe. The Brewery was acquired by Ashby’s Staines Brewery in 1929 with 148 tied houses and brewing ceased in 1931.

“Also any brewery tray which has a ‘black back’ or trays with makers marks such as Hancock Corfield & Waller, B.A.T.Co Ltd, Causton or Wm Brownlie are all my targets.

“My passion for this subject has been captured on a website that took me three years to create. If interested please search www.brewerytrays.co.uk

“The site includes many articles, manufacturers history, videos and of course photos of all my trays.”

If anyone can help then please email [email protected] or phone 07715369540.

Related topics:BuckinghamshireAylesburyBritainHigh Wycombe