Curator's Corner - Circular brass plaque

Among the varied food related items on the large shelf in the Ben Lee Room, you will find this circular brass plaque with the embossed figure of a cockerel, and the message, "Take Courage”. This is an advertisement and trade mark for one of Britain's best-known beers.

"Take Courage" Circular brass plaque in the Manor House Dining Room

The Courage Brewery was founded in 1787 by John Courage, a Scottish shipping agent based in London.  The brewery was located on the bank of the Thames, near the Tower of London.  John Courage died while still in his 30's, so his wife, Harriot continued the business, with the aid of established employees.

The cockerel has been the trade mark from the earliest times, and its golden image is to be found in almost every town in the U.K. The bird's somewhat aggressive stance is apt, as the breed depicted is the Oxford variety of the Old English Game, a type of chicken that the Romans found already in Britain when they invaded in 43 AD. The birds were kept mainly for cockfighting, a 'sport' that was finally outlawed in Britain in 1849. The breed is still popular however as a show bird, in both Britain and the US.

The beer of which it is a symbol, is also very popular... in the 1960's and '70's the annual production reached some 75 million gallons. In recent years the company has undergone several changes of ownership, but the golden cockerel and the beer have always been available and a very visible part of English life in town or country. Today, under the ownership of the Wells and Young's Brewery, Courage Best Bitter, Courage Directors, Courage Light Ale and Courage Imperial Russian Stout continue to be supplied.

In the UK, a pub may be owned by a brewery, and in that case the beer would be supplied by that brewery as landlord of the premises. If a pub advertised itself as a 'Free House' then it would be privately owned and can choose whatever beer they want to serve. Small advertising items are made by many breweries, and these have, like so many other such things, become collector’s items. Pub patrons often 'misplace' such pieces, usually under the blind eye of the management, which may have happened here, when someone did “take courage”.

Article originally published in the The Octagon, August 2024 Octagon from the Friends of Fintry