Both still in excellent condition (apart from the necks being broken off – more on that in a minute), the first one we recovered was embossed with “Hodges and Son – Lynton” and the second “Crocombe and Son – the Brewery – Paracombe”.
The bottle shapes were really interesting and after asking around, we found that this type of bottle is called Codd Neck. They were designed by Hiram Codd of Camberwell and were patented in 1872 specifically for carbonated drinks. And n
ow for the clever design bit and possibly why our bottles were broken at the same place, at the neck…“The Codd-neck bottle was designed and manufactured with thick glass to withstand internal pressure, and a chamber to enclose a marble and a rubber washer in the neck. The bottles are filled upside down, and pressure of the gas in the bottle forced the marble against the washer, sealing in the carbonation. The bottle is pinched into a special shape to provide a chamber into which the marble is pushed to open the bottle. This prevents the marble from blocking the neck as the drink is poured.”
So what of our bottles? The only info we could find on Hodges and Son is that the company were not brewers, but retailers and that Crocombe and Son were originally maltsters with the brewery built c.1870 at the rear of Fox & Goose in Paracombe. Brewing ceased 1940 due to the death of Mr Crocombe senior.
If anyone has any further info on these bottles, it would be gratefully received.
