William Murray , brewer and farmer , established the business at Ednam, near Kelso, Scotland , in 1880. The brewery was destroyed by fire and William Murray moved to Craigmillar, Edinburgh, Scotland , in 1886 and established the Craigmillar Brewery . William Murray & Co Ltd was registered in December 1897 as a limited liability company to acquire the business at a purchase price of GBP 75,000. The company took over John Somerville & Co Ltd , North British Brewery , Duddingston, Edinburgh (est. 1897), in 1922; John & George Brown , Macduff Brewery , East Wemyss, Scotland, (est. 1850s) and 8 tied houses in 1926; William Halley Brown , Craigie Brewery , Lyon Street, Dundee, Scotland, in 1943; and John Wallace & Co , Aberdeen, Grampian, whisky blenders and wine and spirit merchants, in about 1946.
Brewing ceased at Craigmillar Brewery in 1950 , continuing at the North British Brewery. The company was acquired in May 1960 by Northern Breweries of Great Britain Ltd , later United Breweries Ltd , York and London, England, which merged with Charrington and Co Ltd , London, in 1962 through a holding company, Charrington United Breweries Ltd . It continued to brew until May 1962 when brewing was transferred to Aitchison Jeffrey Ltd , Heriot Brewery , Roseburn Terrace, Edinburgh, Scotland. Bottling and malting continued at the North British Brewery until 1964 .
Source: Richmond, Lesley and Turton, Alison (eds). The Brewing Industry. A Guide to Historical Records ( Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 1990 )
From the guide to the Records of William Murray & Co Ltd, brewers, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1897-1970s, (Glasgow University Archive Services)
