Webster's Brewery
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Webster's Brewery (Samuel Webster & Sons Ltd) was a brewery founded in 1838 by Samuel Webster which operated at the Fountain Head Brewery in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Webster's Green Label, a light mild, and Yorkshire Bitter gained national distribution after the company was taken over by Watney Mann in 1972. Throughout the 1970s it was known for the advertising slogan: "Drives out the northern thirst".
The brewery was closed with the loss of 400 jobs in 1996. Following its acquisition by Courage Brewery in 1990, Courage moved operations to Berkshire brewery as they bought the brewery to obtain the Budweiser and Holsten pils packaging contracts. After the brewery's closure, Webster's beers were initially brewed at the John Smith's Brewery in Tadcaster before moving to the Thomas Hardy Brewery at Burtonwood in 2004. Silvan Brands have owned the company since 2003 when they acquired it from Scottish & Newcastle.
HistoryEdit
Origins: 1838–1900Edit
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Samuel Webster (1813–1872) was born in Ovenden, a small village about 2 miles from Halifax town centre.<ref name=Malcolm>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was the eldest of seven brothers born into a Congregationalist family of the 10 acre-owning farmer James Webster.<ref name=Malcolm /> Webster acquired the small Fountain Head Brewery in Ovenden Wood in 1838 when he was 25 and opened an office in Union Cross Yard, Halifax.<ref name="nationalarchives.gov.uk">The National Archives.</ref> The company bought its first public house in 1845.<ref name="nationalarchives.gov.uk"/> In 1860 he was joined in partnership by his three sons Isaac, George Henry and Samuel Green, and the firm began trading as Samuel Webster & Sons.<ref>The Brewing industry: a guide to historical records By Lesley Richmond, Alison Turton, p. 356</ref> Samuel Webster died in 1872, leaving his sons to continue the business.<ref name=Malcolm /> The firm also imported and sold wines and cigars, in addition to its brewing concerns.<ref>The National Archives.</ref>
By 1880 the company had 100 tied houses.<ref name=Nat>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In March 1890 Samuel Webster & Sons became a registered company with £175,000 (£17.5 million in 2010) of capital and Isaac Webster, Samuel's eldest son, its first chairman.<ref name="nationalarchives.gov.uk"/><ref>COMMERCIAL & MARKETS. Liverpool Mercury etc (Liverpool, England), Monday, 24 March 1890; Issue 13169.</ref> In 1892 net profit was £20,000 (£2 million in 2010).<ref>COMMERCIAL REPORTS. The Leeds Mercury (Leeds, England), Tuesday, 26 January 1892; Issue 16787.</ref> In 1896 the company took over H & T T Ormerod of Brighouse, West Yorkshire which could trace its origins back to 1760.<ref name="richmond357">The Brewing industry: a guide to historical records By Lesley Richmond, Alison Turton, p. 357.</ref><ref name="brighouseecho1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Isaac Webster died in 1899, leaving an estate of £87,454 (£9 million).<ref>Births, Deaths, Marriages and Obituaries. The Morning Post (London, England), Saturday, 17 June 1899; p. 5; Issue 39636. 19th Century British Library Newspapers: Part II.</ref> By 1900 the company's office had moved to 57 Northgate, Halifax.<ref name=Malcolm />
20th-century consolidationEdit
The temperance movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, and emergency laws aimed at restricting drinking during the First World War created difficult trading conditions for brewers.<ref>‘Lloyd George's Beer' or When It Was Illegal to Buy Your Round Template:Webarchive.</ref> In 1919 net profit was reported at £22,325 (£900,000 at 2010 prices).<ref>The Manchester Guardian (1901–1959) [Manchester (UK)] 7 March 1919: 9.</ref> Samuel Wentworth Webster, a director of the company and grandson of the founder, died in 1928 with a personalty of £45,000 (£2.2 million in 2010).<ref>The Times, 28 August 1928</ref> In 1928, one of the brewery's most successful beers was launched; Webster's Green Label, a light mild ale.<ref>Samuel Webster & SonsThe Financial Times (London, England), Monday, 9 April 1956; p. 7; Edition 20,825 (534 words).</ref> In 1929 the company's entire stock of properties, land and brewery buildings was valued at £468,833 (£23.2 million in 2010).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The company took over Joseph Stocks of Halifax in December 1932, which could trace its origins back to 1790.<ref name="brighouseecho1"/> In 1957, Webster's took over the brewer, John Ainley & Sons Ltd. of Huddersfield and Woodhead Brothers of Elland, near Halifax, a mineral water manufacturer.<ref name="richmond357"/> The company dray horses, used for local beer deliveries, were retired by the end of the 1950s.<ref name="Arnot2012">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1961 Webster's bought Daniel Fielding & Sons of Halifax, which added 19 public houses to their tied estate.<ref name=autogenerated2>SAMUEL WEBSTER & SONS LTD.: A RECORD TRADING YEAR PLANS FOR INCREASING CAPACITY MR J R G MARCHETTI'S STATEMENT The Guardian (1959–2003) [London (UK)] 8 March 1963: 18.</ref> The same year the company sought out partnership with the national brewer Watney Mann in order to benefit from the technical knowledge of the much larger company.<ref name="Samuel Webster 2011">"Samuel Webster & Sons, Limited". Financial Times 3 March 1961. Retrieved 19 August 2011.</ref> In return Webster's brewed and sold the brewery conditioned Watney's Red Barrel ale throughout their tied estate.<ref name="Samuel Webster 2011"/> In 1962, a reciprocal trading agreement was reached with Ind Coope's North East division which saw Webster's houses stock lager for the first time. That same year the group won the contract to bottle Tuborg for West Yorkshire.<ref name=autogenerated2 />
In September 1966, a friendly takeover of the Bradford brewers J. Hey & Company Ltd added 73 public houses to their estate.<ref>The Times Tuesday, 14 March 1967; p. 16; Issue 56889; col A.</ref> Webster's had a market value of £3.3 million, and J. Hey had a value of £1 million.<ref name="DECCA'S P.C">Boardroom news: DECCA'S 'SPLENDID' RESULTS SQUEEZE SHOULD BENEFIT TELEFUSION SCHWEPPES' PROFITS LEAP BY 15 P.C The Guardian (1959–2003) [London (UK)] 14 September 1966: 12.</ref> The combined group had assets of over £4.5 million (£65 million in 2010 prices).<ref name="DECCA'S P.C"/> Webster's continued to bottle Guinness under their Hey & Humphries subsidiary label into the late 1980s.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, consolidation, a good product and successful marketing made the company successful, according to The Times, with the social club trade accounted for around half of turnover.<ref>"Brewery gets taste for new technique Consultancy". The Times, 25 March 1968; p. 22; Issue 57209; col A.</ref> By 1967 Watney Mann owned 18.4 per cent of the company, and Webster's had a market capitalisation of £6 million (£85 million in 2010 prices) and owned 320 public houses and 12 off licences.<ref>"The protectors and the protected." The Economist (London), 2 December 1967. Retrieved 19 August 2011.</ref><ref>Investors chronicle and stock exchange gazette, Volume 2, Part 2, 1967, p. 209.</ref> Watney Mann had gradually increased their share to 27.1 per cent by 1972 when it initiated a takeover of the rest of the company.<ref>The Economist, Volume 225, Issue 3</ref> Samuel Webster & Sons was offered £18 million for the 73 per cent of the company that Watney did not already own.<ref>Goodrick-Clarke, A; Wilson, Andrew (11 March 1972). "£359m bid for Watney Mann" The Times; p. 1; Issue 58424; col C.</ref> The Watney Mann offer valued the entire company at almost £250 million in 2010 prices.<ref>Inflation Calculator. Template:Webarchive Bank of England.</ref> The takeover was a friendly one, and dependent upon the agreement of the Webster family, who owned 20 per cent of the company.<ref name="Andrew Wilson p. 17">Wilson, Andrew (29 February 1972). "Watney takeover puts £24m value on brewery", The Times. p. 17; Issue 58414; col E.</ref> Watney Mann was motivated by an increase to their tied estate.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>The Times Tuesday, 13 January 1970; p. 28; Issue 57766; col A.</ref> Following the takeover, Webster's continued as a regional subsidiary of the Watney Mann brewing empire, responsible for Yorkshire, north Lincolnshire, north Derbyshire and north Nottinghamshire.<ref>The Guardian (1959–2003) [London (UK)] 21 May 1981: 21.</ref> The takeover saw heavy investment in the brewery and the Webster's brands enjoyed increased distribution nationally.<ref name="nationalarchives.gov.uk"/> That same year, Watney Mann itself was taken over by Grand Metropolitan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1979, Webster's employed a total of 1,500 people across production, distribution and retailing.<ref>Management services, Volume 29, 1979.</ref> The early 1980s saw the "gradual transformation" of Webster's into a national brand.<ref>European Cases in Strategic Management By John Hendry, Tony Eccles, pp. 246–7.</ref> In 1985, Grand Met merged the Wilson Brewery of Manchester (which Watney Mann had bought in 1960) with Webster's to form Samuel Webster and Wilsons Ltd.<ref name=Nat/> In 1986, Wilsons Brewery was closed down and production of Wilsons Original Bitter and Wilsons Mild was moved to Halifax.<ref>Wood, Lisa. "Brewery Closure to Hit 237 Jobs". Financial Times (London) 9 May 1986: Retrieved 19 August 2011.</ref> By 1988 Webster's was supplying around 1000 pubs in the North of England, and as far afield as North Wales.<ref name="nationalarchives.gov.uk"/>
Moving out of the brewing industry, Grand Met sold Webster's to Courage in 1990.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> By that year Webster's had an annual revenue of around £100 million and claimed 7 per cent of the national bitter market.<ref name=Nat/><ref name="ReferenceA">"Webster vies for lager youth", Campaign, 16 November 1990.</ref> However Courage owned the higher selling John Smith's ale brand, and Webster's was deprioritised.<ref>John Smith's Bitter: Changing the agenda for bitter advertising.</ref> The brands suffered further after the Scottish & Newcastle takeover of Courage, as S&N, with their own Theakstons brand, now owned three major bitter brands from Yorkshire alone. By 1996 Scotland on Sunday described the brand as "staid" and argued that it "never caught on outside its Yorkshire heartland."<ref name="Sunday 1996">Big beer rolls back the barrel, Scotland on Sunday, 21 January 1996.</ref> By this time John Smith's was outselling Webster's three to one.<ref name="Sunday 1996"/>
Following the closure of the Fountain Head Brewery in 1996, Webster's beers were initially brewed at Scottish Courage's John Smith's Brewery in Tadcaster, but were subsequently moved to the Thomas Hardy Brewery at Burtonwood in 2004.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Scottish & Newcastle sold the Webster's brands to Silvan Brands in 2003.<ref>London Stock Exchange Aggregated Regulatory News Service (ARNS) 19 February 2008 Scot.& Newcastle Final Results.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Intellectual Property Office – Results.</ref> The chairman Brian Stewart defended the sale, claiming: "Webster's was a brand that did not have a strong brand franchise. What has happened is that brands [which] consumers demand are still here".<ref>The Sunday Herald 7 July 2002 McEwan's still best buy says S&N chairman.</ref> In 2011, H B Clark took over the distribution rights for the Webster's brands in the north of England.<ref>"Clark's plans for Webster's"; p. 26, Morning Advertiser, 10 November 2011.</ref> The bitter is now simply known as Webster's Bitter.<ref>http://www.hbclark.co.uk/brochure/mar-april-12-rewards-plus.pdfTemplate:Dead link</ref> In 2015, Silvan Brands Ltd dissolved and the brand is believed no longer to be sold.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Fountain Head BreweryEdit
The brewery site was chosen for its Pennine spring which provided the ready water supply necessary for brewing. The water was rich in magnesium sulphate which added bitterness to the beer and provided it with a dry finish.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1873 the brewery was extended and redeveloped.<ref name="nationalarchives.gov.uk"/> In 1890 the brewery was linked to the Halifax High Level Railway network, which facilitated the brewery's distribution.<ref name=autogenerated1>Halifax History Blog > Halifax Town, Calderdale, West Yorkshire Template:Webarchive.</ref> In 1900 the Château-influenced maltings building was built as part of a £10,000 (£1 million in 2010) development project.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> By 1958 the company's existing offices in Northgate, Halifax, were proving too small for the expanding company, and new offices were custom built on the Ovenden Wood site.<ref name="Samuel Webster p. 2">"Samuel Webster & Sons Ltd." Financial Times (London, England), 8 April 1957; p. 2; Edition 21,133.</ref> The landmark maltings building was closed in 1960 as its Template:Convert per annum capacity proved insufficient for the brewery's increasing needs, and the building was used for storage.<ref>The Guardian (1959–2003) [London (UK)] 11 August 1960: 13.</ref>
In 1973, Watney Mann commissioned a new brewhouse.<ref name="nationalarchives.gov.uk"/> In 1979 a new £6 million lager plant was started, initially brewing Holsten.<ref name=Nat/><ref>United Press International 4 July 1984, Wednesday, AM cycle.</ref> By the early 1980s the brewery had beer production volumes of around 400,000 barrels per annum and employed around 600 people.<ref>The Guardian (London) 20 January 1983: 21.</ref> At this time, the brewery was described as "wonderfully traditional" by Roger Protz and had open fermentation vessels, mash tuns and copper brewing vessels.<ref>Protz, Roger (12 April 2007), "On the trail of old favourites" Template:Webarchive, The Morning Advertiser.</ref> Production of Budweiser began in 1984.<ref>United Press International 4 July 1984. "It might be good on snake bites".</ref> Having previously been used for storage, in 1986 the historic Long Can Hall was converted to function as the brewery's visitor's centre.<ref>Halifax Courier 14 November 2006 £400,000 for place they could not give away.</ref>
A£10 million expansion project was embarked upon at the brewery in 1988.<ref name=autogenerated4>From the Courier Archives – Nostalgia – Halifax Courier Template:Webarchive.</ref> Construction of a new plant increased brewing capacity from 1 million to 1.3 million barrels a year.<ref name=autogenerated3 /> In 1989, the derelict former maltings building was converted into brewery offices in a £4 million project.<ref>A brief guide to the industrial heritage of West Yorkshire, Thompson, p. 15.</ref> Also, a new distribution depot was constructed in Elland.<ref name=autogenerated4 />
In 1990, the Old Maltings was categorised as a Grade II listed building.<ref>Template:NHLE</ref> By 1990, most of the Fountain Head Brewery was dedicated to brewing Webster's and Wilsons ales.<ref>"Enter a new pub giant as Courage swallows GrandMet breweries". The Guardian (Manchester) 14 March 1990; Roger Cowe; p. 10.</ref> The brewery's bottling line was closed in 1991, resulting in the loss of 54 jobs.<ref name="The Guardian p. 9">"1,400 Courage jobs to go". The Guardian (Manchester) 8 August 1991; p. 9.</ref>
At the time of the brewery's closure in November 1996, it employed 184 people on a ten hectare site.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As well as Webster's and Wilson's beers, the brewery had been producing the lager brands Foster's and Molson.<ref>Scottish & Newcastle to cut 1,600 brewing jobs, The Independent, 17 January 1996.</ref> The brewery had been running at "well below" 50 per cent of its 1.3 million barrel capacity which was deemed "unsustainable" according to Scottish & Newcastle management.<ref>Oram, Roderick. "S&N Sheds 1,600 Jobs in Courage Integration". Financial Times (London), 17 January 1996: 28. Retrieved 19 August 2011.</ref> Although productivity per employee had been the highest of any of Scottish & Newcastle's brewing plants it was claimed that it would have required substantial investment if it was to remain competitive.<ref>Cowe, Roger (17 January 1996). The Guardian: 16.</ref><ref>MPs CHALLENGE BREWERY JOB CUTS, Press Association, 17 January 1996, Wednesday.</ref>
In 2004, Fountainhead Village was built on the former brewery site.<ref>"Luxury brewery homes on way", Halifax Evening Courier.</ref> After a period of dormancy, the Old Maltings reopened as a children's day nursery in 2007, and a school and community centre was opened alongside the nursery in 2011.<ref>"Sports centre vision on old brewery site" Template:Webarchive, Halifax Evening Courier.</ref><ref>"The Maltings resource centre is now open" Template:Webarchive, Halifax Evening Courier.</ref> The Maltings College, which opened at the site in 2013, closed in 2018.
Webster's Yorkshire BitterEdit
Webster's Yorkshire Bitter was launched in the summer of 1982.<ref>Watch out for Webbo!: How advertising helped build a brand – and a brewery, Institute of Practitioners in Advertising: IPA Effectiveness Awards, 1984.</ref> Largely a cask product, by 1984 Grand Metropolitan had transformed Yorkshire Bitter into a "massive" national brand, available in the company's 5,000 tied houses and 15,000 free houses.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was marketed as their response to the growing popularity of Yorkshire bitter in the south of England, particularly John Smith's. Yorkshire Bitter was the highest selling off trade bitter by 1985 with 18 per cent of the market.<ref>Marketing, Institute of Marketing and Sales Management</ref><ref>The Grocer 12 April 1986 SECTION: p. 33.</ref> It had become the fifth best selling bitter nationally by 1989, helped by a competitive pricing policy, and was the highest selling bitter in London.<ref>The Top Ten, Campaign, 26 May 1989.</ref><ref>[1]Template:Dead link</ref> The beer was not without its critics, with the 1990 Good Beer Guide describing it as "weak flavour[ed], reminiscent of a poor quality home brew – worty, bland, cloying, with a dirty finish on the tongue".<ref>GOOD BEER GUIDE IS ENTHUSIASTIC, PUNCHY, SOMETIMES ACID..., Press Association, 23 October 1989.</ref> In 1993, Yorkshire Bitter was reduced from 3.8 per cent to 3.5 per cent ABV in order to save money on duty.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
When Scottish & Newcastle acquired the John Smith's and Webster's bitter brands as part of their takeover of Courage in 1995, the lower selling Webster's brands were deprioritised, and virtually all marketing support ceased.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Roger Protz has described the brand as "almost redundant" and production of cask conditioned Webster's beer was ended in 2010.<ref name="ReferenceB" /><ref>On the trail of old favourites.</ref><ref>Good Beer Guide 2011, p694</ref><ref>New ‘intelligent wholesale’ business set to revolutionise drinks brands distribution » Hospitality And Catering News.</ref>
AdvertisingEdit
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Webster's Pennine Bitter was known for its slogan: "Drives out the northern thirst", first used in 1970 and supported throughout the 1970s by a local television campaign featuring Yorkshire cricketer Fred Trueman.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the advertisements, Trueman would breathe fire after drinking his pint of Pennine Bitter and say "We like things right in Yorkshire – like our beer. Webster's Pennine Bitter. Drives out the northern thirst".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The comedian Charlie Williams appeared in television advertisements for Yorkshire Bitter in 1984–85. One of the Williams advertisements featured a cameo from Yorkshire cricketers Fred Trueman and Ray Illingworth. The Webster's Yorkshire Bitter "Talking horses" campaign ran from 1986 until 1992 with the slogan "It's right tasty is Webster's".<ref>Morning Advertiser, 10 November 2011 "Clark's plans for Webster's" p. 26.</ref> Dray horses were used in the 1980s, but replaced by animatronic puppets in the 1990s.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
SponsorshipEdit
The company sponsored The Hallé orchestra to appear in Halifax to sell out audiences in 1966 and 1967. In the summer of 1984, Webster's Yorkshire Bitter invested £100,000 into English cricket, with the aim of finding six fast bowlers by winter.<ref>Bailey, Trevor. "Search for a New Trueman". Financial Times (London, England) 11 August 1984. Retrieved 19 August 2011.</ref> From 1986 to 1992, Webster's sponsored Bradford Northern RLFC rugby league team, and Halifax RLFC from 1987 to 1993, Dinnington Colliery Band from 1987 to 1990, the UK Open darts championship in 1989 and 1990, and the World Matchplay darts tournament in 1995 and 1996.<ref>"WEBSTER'S ENTERS SECOND YEAR OF OPEN DARTS SPONSORSHIP", PR Newswrire Europe, 4 December 1990.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
ReferencesEdit
Further readingEdit
- Robinson P. W., 'Not Disheartened by Difficulty', a History of the Fountain Head Brewery (Reference Department of Halifax Central Library).
- Reader, W. J., Grand Metropolitan: A History 1962–1987, Oxford University Press, Template:ISBN