Editing Webster's Brewery (section)

=== 20th-century consolidation ===
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>[http://www.westernfrontassociation.com/component/content/article/160-life-on-the-home-front/1591-lloyd-georges-beer-or-when-it-was-illegal-to-buy-your-round.html ‘Lloyd George's Beer' or When It Was Illegal to Buy Your Round<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807055734/http://www.westernfrontassociation.com/component/content/article/160-life-on-the-home-front/1591-lloyd-georges-beer-or-when-it-was-illegal-to-buy-your-round.html |date=7 August 2011 }}.</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&nbsp;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&nbsp;million in 2010).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.catalogue.wyjs.org.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=WYAS4031&pos=181 |title = CalmView: Record |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120721081246/http://www.catalogue.wyjs.org.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=WYAS4031&pos=181 |archive-date=21 July 2012 |url-status=dead}}</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 horse]]s, used for local beer deliveries, were retired by the end of the 1950s.<ref name="Arnot2012">{{cite book |last=Arnot |first=Chris |title=Britain's Lost Breweries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z2gnLgEACAAJ|year=2012|publisher=Aurum Press |isbn=978-1-78131-002-1 |page=138}}</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 />

[[File:The Old Cock Inn, Old Cock Yard, Halifax - geograph.org.uk - 272311.jpg|thumb|left|The Old Cock Inn, Halifax, dating from 1580, was the flagship Webster's public house. Their [[annual general meeting]]s were held there until the company's takeover.]]
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&nbsp;million, and J. Hey had a value of £1&nbsp;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&nbsp;million (£65&nbsp;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>{{cite web |url=http://www.bradfordcamra.freeserve.co.uk/tyke/TT_Nov2003.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2013-08-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221305/http://www.bradfordcamra.freeserve.co.uk/tyke/TT_Nov2003.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2016 }}</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&nbsp;million (£85&nbsp;million in 2010 prices) and owned 320 public houses and 12 [[off licence]]s.<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&nbsp;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&nbsp;million in 2010 prices.<ref>[http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/education/inflation/calculator/flash/index.htm Inflation Calculator]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090324044204/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/education/inflation/calculator/flash/index.htm |date=24 March 2009 }} 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>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CtwSAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Webster's+Brewery%22+-inpublisher:icon |title=The death of the English pub |date=19 October 2010 |isbn=9780091176303 |access-date=7 May 2011|last1=Hutt |first1=Christopher }}</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>{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/grand-met-puts-sip-of-brewing-history-up-for-sale-fresh-attempt-to-find-buyer-for-300yearold-truman-site-in-east-end-1420791.html | location=London | work=The Independent | title=Grand Met puts sip of brewing history up for sale: Fresh attempt to find buyer for 300-year-old Truman site in East End | first=John | last=Shepherd | date=6 June 1994}}</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"/>

[[File:Longcan.jpg|right|thumb|Long Can Hall. Built in 1637, it served as the brewery visitor's centre from 1986 to 1996.]]
Moving out of the brewing industry, Grand Met sold Webster's to [[Scottish & Newcastle|Courage]] in 1990.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QqnvNsgas20C&q=grand+metropolitan+webster's&pg=PA691 |title=A history of beer and brewing|isbn=9780854046300|access-date=7 May 2011|last1=Hornsey|first1=Ian Spencer|year=2003}}</ref> By that year Webster's had an annual revenue of around £100&nbsp;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 [[Theakston Brewery|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>{{Cite web |url=http://www.spbw.com/magazine/PiH%2097.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=16 April 2011 |archive-date=21 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721095741/http://www.spbw.com/magazine/PiH%2097.pdf |url-status=dead }}</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>{{cite web |url=http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/local/calderdale_life_wee_sam_lunch_proves_to_be_as_popular_as_ever_1_1943290 |title=Calderdale Life: Wee Sam lunch proves to be as popular as ever |work=Halifax Courier |date=28 December 2008 |access-date=7 May 2011}}</ref><ref>[http://www.ipo.gov.uk/t-find-number?detailsrequested=H&trademark=1190241 Intellectual Property Office – Results<!-- Bot generated title -->].</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.pdf{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 2015, Silvan Brands Ltd dissolved and the brand is believed no longer to be sold.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/SC237505|title = SILVAN BRANDS LIMITED - Overview (Free company information from Companies House)}}</ref>