Gray and Dacre Brewery

The Gray and Dacre Brewery was established in West Ham, Essex, in the first half of the 19th century. It was probably set up by John Gray (1791-1826) and a member of the Dacre family, which was resident in West Ham for several generations until the 1860s, possibly Francis Dacre, who is described on the 1841 census as a "brewer". John Gray was the son of Owen Gray, of March, Cambridgeshire, who was also a brewer. John's widow, Lydia (1794-1855), and some of their children were still living at the brewery in 1841, but it is not clear what happened afterwards.

John Gray is buried under the floor of the nave of All Saints' Church, West Ham (see History of the Parishes of East and West Ham (1888) by Katherine Fry, daughter of Elizabeth Fry, the prison reformer).

The business may have been sold to the Watney family, to which John Gray was related by marriage. His wife, Lydia Shears (youngest daughter of James Shears of James Shears and Sons), had a niece, Rebecca Spurrell, who was married to the brewer James Watney.