The brewery, founded around 1800 as Satchell & Co., was later bought out by maltster James King and renamed King & Sons. In 1906, another Horsham brewer, G.H. Barnes and Co., merged with King & Sons thus forming King and Barnes. The company was taken over in 2000 by Hall and Woodhouse. The brewery building was sold off and demolished for housing.

The pubs are now managed by Hall and Woodhouse, while the Hall and Woodhouse Badger Brewery acquired the rights to the King & Barnes brand names. The brewery's cask ales were very popular in the local area; while King & Barnes had also gained a wider reputation for their bottle-conditioned beers.

In 2001, Bill King of King & Barnes formed a small brewery in Horsham, WJ King & Co and has since established the Firebird Brewery in Rudgwick. The ex-head brewer Andy Hepworth also formed a brewery in the town, now expanded and located opposite the Brinsbury College which, as well as producing their own beers, contract-brews and bottles for other companies.