North Norfolk Bottles

www.norfolkbottles.com


Homepage North Norfolk Index External Links

Welcome to North Norfolk Bottles...


This website has been put together to try and give collectors, local historians and genealogists a guide to old bottles and ephemera that have been used by Mineral water manufacturers, wine and spirit merchants and brewers in the Victorian and Edwardian Periods in North Norfolk.

The website has been broken down into Towns and Villages which can be found on the North Norfolk Index Link at the top of this page under the title, this will take you to an index of all the places featured. Click on a place name and you will go to that Town or Village where the merchants, manufacturers & companies are alphebetised. At the top of each place page you can click on a merchants name and you will jump to that merchant on the same page. Every Manufacturer, company or merchant has images of items they had made or produced and also advertisements and old images along with some information and also a brief history of the company with dates of operation and key events in their timeline.

The information on this website has been sourced from Norfolk Trade Directories between 1822 and 1932. These directories include Kelly's, Harrods, Whites, Post Office, Slater's, Town and County and more. Other information has been gathered from The London Gazette, National Newspaper Archive, Ancestry.co.uk & Ancestors of the people involved.

The area of Norfolk Which is covered within this website is everywhere North of the red line shown on the map below.

The Towns and Villages that featured on the website are as follows;

Aylsham, Bale, Bawdeswell, Blickling, Brampton, Brinton, Brisley, Briston, Burnham, Castle Rising, Clenchwarton, Colkirk, Coltishall, Corpusty, Cromer, Dilham, Docking, Downham Market, Dunham, East Bilney, East Dereham, East Rudham, Elm, Erpingham, Fakenham, Flitcham, Foulsham, Gayton, Gaywood, Gooderstone, Great Bircham, Great Witchingham, Heacham, Hethersett, Hingham, Holkham, Holt, Horning, Horstead, Hunstanton, Kimberley, King's Lynn, Lenwade, Letheringsett, Litcham, Ludham, Mattishall, Melton Constable, Melton Magna, Methwold, Mileham, Mundesley, Narborough, North Elmham, North Walsham, Northwold, Outwell, Overstrand, Rackheath, Reepham, Roydon, Ryburgh, Saxlingham, Sco' Ruston, Setch, Sheringham, Sidestrand, Snettisham, South Creake, Stalham, Stoke Ferry, Stratton Strawless, Swaffham, Swafield, Trunch, Upwell, Walpole, Walsingham, Watlington, Watton, Wells-Next-The-Sea, Wereham, Wisbech, Wormegay, Worstead, Wroxham.

History


The majority of items on this website date from between 1800 until around 1930. In those days nearly every town would have its own manufacturer of Wines, Spirits, Beers or Soft drink, which also meant they would need their own bottles to sell their products. Whether they were a wine and spirit merchant, ginger beer, mineral water or soda water manufacturer, porter dealer or dairyman, a glass or stoneware container was essential. In order to get their bottles back or promote their produce they would have their name embossed, etched, printed or impressed onto the bottle. This would also help to stop other companies or competitiors stealing and using their bottles.

Most of the bottles and pots on this website would have been thrown away at some point of there life and have spent probably the best part of 80 to 100 years buried underground and then recovered by bottle diggers or found by digger drivers, farmers etc.

New and unseen bottles and advertising are still turning up all the time so this website will be updated as when something new is recovered.

East Anglian Bottle Collectors Club Show


The 2024 East Anglian Antique Bottle Collectors Club Shows will be held on

14th April 2024 & 6th October 2024

At Hingham Sports & Social Club with Free Admission, doors opening at 8.30am with the show finishing at 12 noon. Postcode for the venue is NR9 4HD.

Always a very friendly and well attended show with visitors from all over the country. Always a bargain to be had and a few gems on offer too.

Hope to see you there!

Find Us On Social Media


Follow us on Facebook for News and Information about Norfolk Bottles. Where you can find digging photos, latest finds from our digging and foraging exploits and latest additions to the website.

Just search for "North Norfolk Bottles" or click on the image on the left.
Follow Us on Instragram by clicking on the image on the left or search for @norfolkbottles
Facebook Page for Norfolk Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Bottle Collectors
Facebook Page Dedicated to Kings Lynn Victorian Bottles

Videos

BBC Inside Out
Bottle digging at King's Lynn filmed on location by the BBC.
 
Picture Claxton's Mineral Water Works, Wells-Next-The-Sea.
Anglia Television broadcast from the 1970's interviewing John Claxton before Claxton's Mineral Water Works Closes.
 
Peatling Video Thomas Peatling & Sons
Short Video filmed in the 1920's.

Norwich Bottles & Breweriana

I have been kindly given the permission to host the website Norwich Bottles & Breweriana which was the work of Barry Roberts. The site is an excellent resource concerning the major breweries of Norwich. These include Steward & Patteson Ltd, Youngs, Crawshay & Youngs, Bullard & Sons, Morgans Brewery Co, Backs & Caleys and more.
To access the site click
here or the image to the left.

Contact Us

Please contact us with any information or pictures you have. If you have any Norfolk bottles that you would like information about we would be glad to help with any queries. Please contact us by clicking the following link coddsbeck@aol.com



We are always on the lookout to buy Norfolk & Wisbech bottles and related items. So if you have any bottles for sale we would be very interested in them, anything considered, single items or whole collections. Top prices paid and some swaps available. Also if you have bottles which are not for sale and are not shown within this website we would still love to hear from you. Please contact us by clicking the following link coddsbeck@aol.com

Everett Cromer

Thank You


I would just like to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone who has assisted me in putting this site together and allowed me access to their collections for photographs.

Without their help this site would not have been possible.

Thanks!


North Norfolk Bottles last updated 14/11/2023