UNCORK the mystery bottle and drink deeply of a fascinating little story from Darlington's past. The bottle, dug up recently in Gainford and featured a fortnight ago on this page, has proved to be the source of a story that dates from about 1828.

In those days, a fellow called James Dee manufactured lemonade in Post House Wynd. His premises, including a well, were on the left as you head towards Skinnergate.

In 1850, James' business was taken over by Thomas Firth, who was about 21 and hailed from Brough, in Westmoreland. We can only guess at his reasons for crossing the Pennines, but he stayed, because a few years later he married a Jane from Haughton-le-Skerne.

Firth's was known as "the teetotal brewery" because it dealt solely in non-alcoholic products. Thomas' speciality was ginger beer, which he probably brewed in Post House Wynd - even though his well was closed after 1850 because its water was so polluted.

As well as in Darlington, his good distribution network ensured his ginger beer was sold in all the surrounding villages - hence our bottle in Gainford. His was a very distinctive bottle, with a blue design showing the celebrated Locomotion No 1.

Thomas did not remain teetotal for too long. By 1871 he was advertising in the Darlington and Stockton Times as an "ale and porter merchant". He was an agent for Guinness' Dublin Stout (Firth bottles sometimes have a Guinness label stuck over the blue Locomotion No 1), for Bass and Allsopp's East India Pale and Burton Ales.

Intriguingly, he advertised that these were available "in casks of six gallons and upwards, to suit families".

The business must have thrived, because within 20 years Thomas and Jane Firth were living in Cleveland Parade - quite posh, really - and had six children.

Then tragedy struck. Thomas died in the early summer of 1878. He was only 49.

Solicitors were called in to run the business - hence the stamp on the Gainford bottle: "THE EXECUTORS OF THOMAS FIRTH DARLINGTON".

We presume that this was because his eldest son, William Smith Firth, born in about 1859, was not old enough to take on the day-to-day running of the alcohol business.

It was only a temporary state of affairs, because by 1881, the 22-year-old William is listed as an "ale and porter merchant manager". He lived with his mother in Stanhope Road and employed seven men.

He extended the Post House Wynd premises, building a warehouse that stretched into Buckton's Yard. There are numerous old warehouse-type buildings with tantalisingly bricked-up arches, doors and windows in Buckton's Yard, but, at a guess, Firth's is probably the one now occupied by the Health Food Warehouse.

Under William, Firth's continued in ginger beer and lemon squash, but the alcoholic range became wider. According to the Darlington Centre for Local Studies' collection of Firth labels, the company also did "finest old brandy", "special reserve old Irish Whisky", "Ye Olde Boys Scotch" and "A new tonic - Quinine Champagne".

There is also a lovely little slip of paper, dressed up to look like a banknote, which says: "We promise to supply a bottle of rare old blended Scotch whisky of guaranteed quality." It is then signed by WS Firth. Whereas today we give book tokens, did our ancestors give booze tokens?

These labels also show that the company logo changed from Locomotion No 1 to a militaristic soldier advancing into battle - very similar to the Boer War Memorial in St Cuthbert's churchyard, which was unveiled in August 1905 by Lord Frederick Roberts.

William presumably retired, or died, in the early 1920s, when the business was taken over by J Swenden and Co which, since 1894, had bottled mineral water in Buckton's Yard.

Swenden's remained in business until 1955, when it was taken over by the Middlesbrough off-licence chain Winterschladen. Then, after at least 150 years, the pop went out of the fizzy drinks industry in Post House Wynd.

* With huge thanks to Walter Bennett for his help with this article.

* Judging by the response to the last article, Firth's bottles are fairly common locally. They probably sell for a little over £10. Allan Day, of Darlington, points out that many of the Firth's bottles have a little stamp on the side near the base that contains two figures representing the year of manufacture: "89" would be 1889, for example

Published: ??/??/2004

Echo Memories, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington DL1 1NF, e-mail chris.lloyd@nne.co.uk or telephone (01325) 505062.