History Webster's Brewery

the grave of samuel webster near halifax.

samuel webster (1813–1872) born in ovenden, small village 2 miles halifax town centre. eldest of 7 brothers born congregationalist family of 10 acre-owning farmer james webster. webster acquired small fountain head brewery in ovenden wood in 1838 when 25 , opened office in union cross yard, halifax. company bought first public house in 1845. in 1860 joined in partnership 3 sons isaac, george henry , samuel green, , firm began trading samuel webster & sons. samuel webster died in 1872, leaving sons continue business. firm imported , sold wines , cigars, in addition brewing concerns.

by 1880 company had 100 tied houses. in march 1890 samuel webster & sons became registered company £175,000 (£17.5 million in 2010) of capital , isaac webster, samuel s eldest son, first chairman. in 1892 net profit £20,000 (£2 million in 2010). in 1896 company took on h & t t ormerod of brighouse, west yorkshire trace origins 1760. isaac webster died in 1899, leaving estate of £87,454 (£9 million). 1900 company s office had moved 57 northgate, halifax.

20th-century consolidation

the temperance movement of late nineteenth , twentieth century, , emergency laws aimed @ restricting drinking during first world war created difficult trading conditions brewers. in 1919 net profit reported @ £22,325 (£900,000 @ 2010 prices). samuel wentworth webster, director of company , grandson of founder, died in 1928 personalty of £45,000 (£2.2 million in 2010). in 1928, 1 of brewery s successful beers launched; webster s green label, light mild ale. in 1929 company s entire stock of properties, land , brewery buildings valued @ £468,833 (£23.2 million in 2010). company took on joseph stocks of halifax in december 1932, trace origins 1790. in 1957, webster s took on brewer, john ainley & sons of huddersfield , woodhead brothers of elland, near halifax, mineral water manufacturer. company dray horses, used local beer deliveries, retired end of 1950s. in 1961 webster s bought daniel fielding & sons of halifax, added 19 public houses tied estate. same year company sought out partnership national brewer watney mann in order benefit technical knowledge of larger company. in return webster s brewed , sold brewery conditioned watney s red barrel ale throughout tied estate. in 1962, reciprocal trading agreement reached ind coope s north east division saw webster s houses stock lager first time. same year group won contract bottle tuborg west yorkshire.

the old cock inn, halifax, dating 1580, flagship webster s public house. annual general meetings held there until company s takeover.

in september 1966, friendly takeover of bradford brewers j. hey & company ltd added 73 public houses estate. webster s had market value of £3.3 million, , j. hey had value of £1 million. combined group had assets of on £4.5 million (£65 million in 2010 prices). webster s continued bottle guinness under hey & humphries subsidiary label late 1980s. throughout 1960s , 1970s, consolidation, product , successful marketing made company successful, according times, social club trade accounted around half of turnover. 1967 watney mann owned 18.4 per cent of company, , webster s had market capitalisation of £6 million (£85 million in 2010 prices) , owned 320 public houses , 12 off licences. watney mann had gradually increased share 27.1 per cent 1972 when initiated takeover of rest of company. samuel webster & sons offered £18 million 73 per cent of company watney did not own. watney mann offer valued entire company @ £250 million in 2010 prices. takeover friendly one, , dependent upon agreement of webster family, owned 20 per cent of company. watney mann motivated increase tied estate. following takeover, webster s continued regional subsidiary of watney mann brewing empire, responsible yorkshire, humberside, north derbyshire , north nottinghamshire. takeover saw heavy investment in brewery , webster s brands enjoyed increased distribution nationally. same year, watney mann taken on grand metropolitan.

in 1979, webster s employed total of 1,500 people across production, distribution , retailing. 1980s saw gradual transformation of webster s national brand. in 1985, grand met merged wilson brewery of manchester (which watney mann had bought in 1960) webster s form samuel webster , wilsons ltd. in 1986, wilsons brewery closed down , production of wilsons original bitter , wilsons mild moved halifax. 1988 webster s supplying around 1000 pubs in north of england, , far afield north wales.

long can hall. built in 1637, served brewery visitor s centre 1986–1996.

moving out of brewing industry, grand met sold webster s courage in 1990. year webster s had annual revenue of around £100 million , claimed 7 per cent of national bitter market. courage owned higher selling john smith s ale brand, , webster s deprioritised. brands suffered further after scottish & newcastle takeover of courage, s&n, own theakstons brand, owned 3 major bitter brands yorkshire alone. 1996 scotland on sunday described brand staid , argued never caught on outside yorkshire heartland. time john smith s outselling webster s 3 one.

following closure of fountain head brewery in 1996, webster s beers brewed @ scottish courage s john smith s brewery in tadcaster, subsequently moved thomas hardy brewery @ burtonwood in 2004. scottish & newcastle sold webster s brands silvan brands in 2003. chairman brian stewart defended sale, claiming: webster s brand did not have strong brand franchise. has happened brands [which] consumers demand still here . in 2011, h b clark took on distribution rights webster s brands in north of england. bitter known webster s bitter. in 2015, silvan brands ltd dissolved , brand believed no longer sold.