Ellery

John Ellery & Co are only listed as operating from 1880 and they were in operation until the 1950s at least. The company’s premises were listed as being in Union Street, George St and Mutley Plain, Plymouth. Amongst these premises was 194 Union St, the famous Posada wine store, which is mentioned elsewhere in this CD.

There are various glass beer bottles and a stoneware ginger beer found but undoubtedly the most distinctive bottle recovered from this company has to be the superb Heatherdale Scotch Whisky bottle. This very elegant case bottle in varying shades of amber and aqua carries the strange embossing that proclaims a Scotch whisky blended and bottled in Plymouth.

According to legend, Mr. Ellery was a merchant seaman who, following trips to Scotland, developed a keen interest in Scotch whisky and decided to market his own.

The company’s ginger beer bottle is very scarce, also quite scarce is the half size Heatherdale bottle. A green version of the Heatherdale is also said to exist. A recent find on a Plymouth site was a beer bottle embossed “Ellery & Co / Fowey” which was previously unknown by either Plymouth or Cornish collectors and may be from the same company.

Various beer bottles from Ellery & Co

Heatherdale whisky bottle variations

A labelled dark amber Heatherdale bottle (left)

Advertising change tray for Heatherdale Whisky

Spirit flask embossed for Heatherdale Whisky

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