He has wired the place with security cameras, which he uses to peer in on the young couple's comings and goings, couplings and showerings, and more.
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They had no children. He and his three brothers all worked at Showerings; Francis eventually became managing director.
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The iconic 'Babycham' logo was designed and created by John Emperor of CDP (Collett Dickenson Pearce) which was a well-known advertising company in London. The Showerings company was bought out in the 1990s and with it the Babycham brand, but the sons of the original Showerings founders went on to produce Brothers Cider.
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After the war, in 1946, Bulmer's purchased the remaining 50%, changing the name to Bulmer's Ltd Clonmel.Cider Museum H.P. Bulmer maintained international rights to the Bulmer's trade mark, so that any exports were carried out via the parent company rather than directly exported from Ireland. In the 1960s, H. P. Bulmer produced a "Champagne perry" product in direct competition with Babycham, owned by Showerings Ltd of Shepton Mallet. Showerings challenged this in court, and H.P. Bulmer lost the case.
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In 1964, they were forced to sell Bulmer's Clonmel to Guinness and Allied Breweries, parent company of Showerings. The company name was changed to Showerings (Ireland) Ltd. Soon after, the company moved its main processing operations to a new complex at Annerville, five kilometres east of Clonmel, which was opened in 1965 by the then Taoiseach, Seán Lemass. Today the Bulmers/Magners arm of C&C; Group employs more than 470 people and is a substantial part of the economic infrastructure of Clonmel.
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He failed to buy back Showerings in 1991, and joined with the four sons of Sir Keith Showering to set up Brothers Drinks, with a new drink, Straight 8, a full-strength perry with 8 per cent alcohol.
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Showerings became a public company in 1959, and acquired William Gaymer, Vine Products, Whiteways, Britvic, and John Harvey & Sons. Showerings was itself acquired by Allied Breweries in 1968 for £108 million, and Showering was appointed as a director of Allied Breweries after the merger. His nephew Sir Keith Showering was vice-chairman from 1969 and then chairman and chief executive from 1975 to 1982, during which time Allied Breweries acquired Teacher's whisky and became Allied Lyons after the acquisition of the Lyons food and catering business in 1979. Francis Showering became vice-chairman of Allied Breweries in 1982, after his nephew's sudden death.
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Francis Edwin Showering CBE (10 July 1912 – 5 September 1995), was an English brewer. His family company, Showerings, invented Babycham, a light, sparkling perry, launched in 1953 and originally marketed as "genuine champagne perry". In 1957 it became the first alcoholic product to be advertised on UK television.
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Showering was born in Shepton Mallet in Somerset, England, where his father was an innkeeper and brewer. The family business, Showerings, brewed beer and cider. He was educated at Shepton Mallet grammar school and then studied to become a chemist in Bristol. He had married Hilda Foote in 1934.
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Kilver Court Kilver Court is an historic house and gardens in Shepton Mallet in the English county of Somerset. The River Sheppey powered textile mills and it later became a factory, the headquarters of the Showerings brewing business (later part of Allied Domecq), and then the headquarters of a leather-goods manufacturer, Mulberry. It is now used as a shopping centre.
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There are four supermarket chains in the town (Tesco, Waitrose, Co-op and Iceland) and some national banks and estate agents. Coate's cider factory in Nailsea was first opened in 1788 and was bought by Showerings of Shepton Mallet in 1956. The brand was subsequently merged with Gaymers and absorbed by Matthew Clark Brands. Prior to Coates, there was Heath Brewery, owned by the Thatcher family, which was situated behind the former Friendship Inn.
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A lead coffin in a rock-cut grave was discovered at a site by the Fosse Way in 1988. This discovery and the impending commercial development of the site by the landowner, Showerings, led archaeologists to make more extensive excavations in the 1990s. The grave was part of a larger cemetery containing 17 burials on a rough east-west alignment, indicating probable Christian beliefs. Two other, smaller cemeteries contained graves aligned north-south, possibly signifying pagan religious practices.
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After Showerings subsequently merged with Allied Breweries in 1968, the cider business was demerged under via management buyout In January 1992 in a new company called Gaymer Group. The Attleborough factory was saved from threatened closure in 1973. In November 1994, Gaymer Group was acquired by Matthew Clark plc, and production was transferred to Shepton Mallet. With modern techniques the new owners were able to carry on making the distinctive Gaymer's cider in Somerset without affecting the distinctive taste.
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Until suitable trees could be grown locally pear juice was imported from Switzerland. The profits helped to pay for the landscaping of the gardens at the company's headquarters at Kilver Court. In 1978, the Babycham company was sued by French Champagne producers for abuse of their trade name. The case (H P Bulmer Ltd and Showerings Ltd v J Bollinger SA [1978] RPC 79) hinged on the fact that Babycham had been described in advertising as ‘champagne perry’ or ‘champagne cider’.
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In 1896 Gaymers moved their business to the nearby town of Attleborough, where the factory had its own railway siding. Because of the rapid expansion Gaymer had difficulty obtaining enough apples of the right quality and variety and established contact with a number of suppliers in Devon. In 1903, the entire apple crop in Britain was a failure: to avert disaster Gaymer set off for Canada by ship and bought enough apples for that year’s production. In 1961, Showerings of Shepton Mallet bought the company.
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In 1968, Allied made an agreed £108M bid for Showerings of Shepton Mallet, acquiring William Gaymer, Whiteways, Britvic and John Harvey & Sons of Bristol. In 1978, Allied Breweries merged with the food and catering group J. Lyons and Co to form Allied Lyons.Corporate History of Dunkin' Brands from the Dunkin' Brands websiteVanished UK drink is toast of Caribbean, an April 2007 article from the BBC website The breweries business was merged with Carlsberg in 1992 and became Carlsberg-Tetley, which is now part of Carlsberg Group, with Carlsberg-Tetley now known as Carlsberg UK.
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Across Kilver Street (the A37) is Kilver Court, which during the 20th century was a factory, headquarters of a brewing business, and then headquarters of a leather-goods manufacturer. Behind are the Kilver Court Gardens, originally built by Showerings for the recreation of its staff and set against a backdrop of part of the Charlton Viaduct. The gardens are now open to the public. On the eastern edge of the town is Charlton where there are former breweries and mills, now converted into a trading estate, and right on the edge of the town is Charlton House, a luxury hotel and spa.
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Olde English is a brand of cider (formerly known by the alternative spelling cyder). Unlike most English ciders being grown in the west of the country in counties such as Devon, Herefordshire and Somerset, Gaymer's originated in eastern England. “Ye Olde English Cyder” was apparently designed for the American market in 1939, but never shipped out due to the outbreak of the Second World War: it was sold in the UK as a special offer during the war and until 1950, and then became a standard product of the company.Museum of Norfolk Life, Gressenhall, catalogue By the time of the Showerings takeover in 1961 “Olde English” was Gaymer’s best known product.
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Numbers 26, 26B and 27 Kilver street was a country house built around 1650 and since converted into offices and shops. They form a Grade II listed building. It was originally owned by the Whiting family which included Richard Whiting, who used it as their country house close to the mills used in woollen manufacturing, later converting to silk throwers and then lace production The 19th century dovecote, known as the "Round House" and its adjacent gate piers and gates are also listed. Over the course of the 20th century the site has been a factory, the headquarters of the Showerings brewing business (later part of Allied Domecq), and then the headquarters of a leather-goods manufacturer, Mulberry.
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Britvic House, the former Britvic headquarters The Britvic soft drink company began life as the British Vitamin Company in 1948. However, the origins of the company can be traced back to a chemist's shop in Tindal Street where flavoured waters were on sale as early as the mid-19th century. The company was acquired by Showerings of Shepton Mallet, and subsequently a division of Allied Breweries from 1968, The British Vitamin Company changed its name to Britvic in 1971. In 1986 it merged with Canada Dry Rawlings and acquired the R. White's Lemonade brand. It acquired Tango from Beechams in 1987 and since that year it has also owned the UK franchise for Pepsi and 7 Up. In 1995 it bought Robinson's from Reckitt & Colman.
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In 1965, the Babycham Company sued the food writer Raymond Postgate, founder of the Good Food Guide, for an article in Holiday magazine in which he warned readers against Babycham, which "looks like champagne and is served in champagne glasses [but] is made of pears". The company sued for libel, claiming the article implied it was dishonestly passing off Babycham as champagne. The judge in his summation stated that the article was defamatory, but that the jury could consider it as "fair comment" rather than a factual statement. The jury found for Postgate, and he was awarded costs.Law Reports, Oct 30, Nov 2, Nov 4, 1965, The Times Digital Archive During the 1960s Showerings stopped brewing beer to concentrate on cider and perry.
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Canned fruit juices by Britvic (2011) The company was founded in the mid-twentieth century in Chelmsford as the British Vitamin Products Company.Britvic to close Chelmsford factory and put hundreds out of work BBC, 22 May 2013 It started producing fruit juices in 1938 and started marketing them under the Britvic name in 1949.500 staff – and Britvic chief – face axe in merger with AG Barr The Independent (London), 15 November 2012 Acquired by Showerings of Shepton Mallet, and subsequently a division of Allied Breweries from 1968, the company changed its name to Britvic in 1971. In 1986 it merged with Canada Dry Rawlings and acquired the R. White's Lemonade brand. It acquired Tango and the Corona brand from Beechams in 1987 and since that year it has also owned the UK franchise for Pepsi and 7 Up.A simple approach to coaching makes a difference at Britvic Coaching & Mentoring Network In 1995 it bought Robinson's from Reckitt & Colman.
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The production of traditional perry began to decline during the 20th century, in part due to changing farming practices – perry pears could be difficult and labour-intensive to crop, and orchards took many years to mature. The industry was, however, to a certain degree revived by modern commercial perry making techniques, developed by Francis Showering of the firm Showerings of Shepton Mallet, Somerset, in the creation of their sparkling branded perry Babycham. Babycham, the first mass-produced branded perry, was developed by Showering from application of the Long Ashton Institute's research, and was formerly produced from authentic perry pears, though today it is produced from concentrate, the firm's pear orchards having now been dug up. Aimed at the female drinker at a time when wine was not commonly available in UK pubs, Babycham was sold in miniature Champagne-style bottles; the drink was for many years a strong seller and made a fortune for the Showering family.
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