Webster's Brewery

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Samuel Webster's
Former type Brewery
Industry Alcoholic beverage
Founded 1838
Founder(s) Samuel Webster
Defunct 1996 (brewery) Brands ongoing
Headquarters Halifax, West Yorkshire, England
Area served United Kingdom
Products Pale ale, stout, lager
Production output 1.3 million barrel brewery capacity (included lager and Wilsons production (1990)); 40,000 barrels (2007)
Revenue £100 million (1990)
Owner(s) Silvan Brands Ltd
Employees c.550 (1982)

Webster's (Samuel Webster & Sons Limited), was a brewery founded in 1838 by Samuel Webster which operated at the Fountain Head Brewery in Halifax in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England until 1996. Its two most famous brands, Webster's Green Label, a light mild, and Yorkshire Bitter continue to be sold, although the cask conditioned versions were discontinued in 2010. Silvan Brands have owned the company since 2003 when they bought it from Scottish & Newcastle. The company's tied estate concentrated on its Halifax heartland, and then spread throughout West Yorkshire. The brand spread to other areas of the United Kingdom following the company's takeover by the national brewer Watney Mann in 1972, and by the 1980s Webster's beers were available across the country. Perhaps their most famous advertising slogan was 'Drives out the northern thirst'. Webster's was also known for its sponsorship of numerous sporting events throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, particularly cricket and horse racing.

The brewery was closed with the loss of hundreds of jobs due to overcapacity in the brewing industry, but also lower sales as a result of diminished marketing support for the Webster's brand after it was acquired by Courage Brewery as part of its takeover of the Grand Metropolitan beer brands. After the brewery's closure, Webster's branded beers were initially brewed at the John Smith's Brewery in Tadcaster, and were subsequently moved to the Thomas Hardy Brewery at Burtonwood in 2004. The former brewery site has since been converted into a housing estate, the Grade II listed Old Maltings building has been converted into an adult learning centre and the former visitor's centre, located in a seventeeth century building, into a pub called Long Can Hall. Some public houses in the Halifax area still retain Webster's branding, although very few still sell Webster's beers.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Origins: 1838-1900

The Old Maltings, since converted into an adult learning centre.

Samuel Webster (1813–1872) was born in Ovenden, a small village located about 2 mi from Halifax town centre.[1] He was the eldest of seven brothers born into a Congregationalist family; his father was a farmer who owned 10 acres of land.[2] Webster acquired the small Fountain Head Brewery in Ovenden Wood in 1838 when he was just 25, and opened an office in Union Cross Yard, Halifax.[3] The site had been chosen for its Pennine spring which would provide the water used to brew Webster's products until the brewery's closure. The water was rich in magnesium sulphate, which added bitterness to the beer, and provided it with a dry finish.[4][5] Initially only supplying the free trade (public houses not tied to one particular brewer), by 1845 Webster had bought his first public house.[3] By 1848 the firm had earned itself a reputation as the premier brewer in the north of England, although it ought to be noted that brewers in the north tended to very small at this time.[3] 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.[6] After Webster's death in 1872 his sons continued the family business.[7] In 1873, increasing demand led the company to extend and redevelop the brewery.[3] The firm also imported and sold wines and cigars, in addition to its brewing business.[8]

By 1880 the company had purchased its 100th tied house.[9] 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.[3][10] Many breweries went public at this time in order to fund the purchase of tied estates, and were encouraged by the massive success of Guinness' public share offering.[11] That same year the brewery was connected to the railway network, facilitating transportation of their products.[12] In 1892 net profit was £20,000 (£2 million).[13] In 1896 the company took over H & T T Ormerod of Brighouse, West Yorkshire which could trace its origins back to 1760, and the Northgate Hotel in Halifax.[14][15] Isaac Webster died in 1899, leaving an estate of £87,454 (£9 million).[16] In 1900 the Maltings building was built as part of a £10,000 (£1 million) development project.[17] It was designed by William Chambers, and remains a landmark of the Ovenden valley.[18] By this time the company's office had moved to 57 Northgate, Halifax.[19] At the turn of the century Calderdale could boast 25 breweries.[15]

[edit] 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.[20] In 1919 net profit was reported at £22,325 (£900,000 at 2010 prices).[21] 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).[22] In 1929, the company's entire stock of properties, land and brewery buildings was valued at £468,833 (£23.2 million in 2010).[23] The company took over Joseph Stocks of Halifax in December 1932, which could trace its origins back to 1790.[15] By the 1950s only four Calderdale breweries survived: Webster's, Ramsden's, Whitaker's and Fielding's.[15] In 1957 Webster's took over John Ainley & Sons of Huddersfield and Woodhead Brothers of Elland, near Halifax, a mineral water manufacturer.[14] By 1958 the Northgate offices were proving insufficient for the brewery's increasing needs, and new offices were built on the Ovenden Wood site.[24] The spring which was the sole source of water for the brewery was repeatedly dammed in order to ensure a continuous supply during the summer months.[25] In 1960 the maltings was responsible for malt production of 6000 quarters (8000 kilograms) per annum, however it was closed shortly afterwards as it could no longer supply the brewery's increasing demand for malt.[26] In 1961 Webster's bought Daniel Fielding & Sons of Halifax, which added 19 public houses to their tied estate.[27] The same year the company sought out partnership with the national brewer Watney Mann in order to gain technical knowledge.[28] In return, Webster's brewed and sold the brewery conditioned Watney's Red Barrel ale throughout their tied estate.[28] 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.[29] In 1966 a friendly takeover of the Bradford brewers J. Hey & Company Limited added 73 public houses to their estate.[30] Webster's was valued at £3.3 million, and J. Hey valued at £1 million.[31] The combined group had assets of over £4.5 million (£65 million in 2010 prices).[31] Throughout the 1960s and early 70s, the company had never been more successful, owing its continued success to consolidation in the industry, a good product and successful marketing.[32] The social club trade was incredibly important to the company, accounting for half of 1968's £5 million turnover.[32] In 1969 with the takeover and closure of Richard Whitaker & Sons by Whitbread Webster's became the last company still brewing in the Calderdale area.[33] The company's flamboyant chairman from 1950 and the grandson of Isaac Webster, John "Tommy" Roderick Giulio Marchetti died in 1969.[34]

By 1967 Watney Mann owned 18.4 per cent of the company, and Webster's had a market capitalization of £6 million (£85 million in 2010 prices) and owned 320 public houses and 12 off licenses.[35][36] 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.[37] Samuel Webster & Sons owned around 280 tied houses, and was offered £18 million for the 73 per cent of the company that Watney did not already own.[38] The Watney Mann offer valued the entire company at almost £250 million in 2010 prices.[39] The takeover was a friendly one, and dependent upon the agreement of the Webster family, who owned 20 per cent of the company.[40] Geoffrey Hirst was also present on the board of directors.[41] Watney Mann was motivated by an increase to their pub estate (the number of pubs they owned).[42][43] Following the takeover, Webster's continued as a regional subsidiary of the Watney Mann brewing empire, responsible for Yorkshire, Humberside, north Derbyshire and north Nottinghamshire.[44] The takeover was a great boon for Webster's as Watney Mann invested heavily in the brewery, commissioning a new brewhouse in 1973, and the Webster's brands enjoyed increased distribution nationally.[3] That same year, Watney Mann itself was taken over by Grand Metropolitan. Sales for 1976-77 were £24.2 million against £21.9 million the previous year; pre-tax profit was £3.15 million versus £3.39 million.[45] In 1979 a new £6 million lager plant was started, initially brewing Holsten.[9][46] That year, Webster's employed 1500 people in the production, distribution and retailing of beers, wines and spirits throughout Yorkshire.[47]

Long Can Hall. Built in 1637, it served as the brewery visitor's centre from 1986 until 1996.

In 1980 the company reported a pre tax profit of £3.65 million (£12.2 million in 2010 prices) against sales of £46.8 million (£160 million).[48] During the early 1980s, Webster's had beer production volumes of around 400,000 barrels per annum, and the brewery employed around 600 people.[49] The early 1980s saw the "gradual transformation" of Webster's into a national brand.[50] At the same time, the brewery was described as "wonderfully traditional" and had open fermentation vessels, mash tuns and copper brewing vessels.[51] Production of Budweiser began in 1984. In that year Webster's tied estate consisted of 7 per cent of Yorkshire's pubs, compared with John Smith's 15 per cent and Tetley's 14 per cent. As a result the company remained dependent on the free trade for the majority of its sales.[52] 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.[9] In 1986 the Wilsons Brewery was closed down with the loss of 237 jobs and production of Wilsons Original Bitter and Wilsons Mild was moved to Halifax.[53] By 1987 brewery capacity was extended from 1 million barrels a year to 1.3 million barrels, and by 1988 Webster's was supplying around 1000 pubs in the north of England, and as far afield as Deganwy in North Wales.[54] Also in 1988 the historic Long Can Hall was purchased to serve as the brewery's visitor's centre. In 1989 the Old Maltings was converted into brewery offices.[55] As part of it disposal of non-core assets, Grand Met sold Webster's to Courage in 1990.[56] By that year Webster's had an annual revenue of around £100 million and claimed 7 per cent of the national bitter market.[9][57] The vast proportion of the Fountain Head Brewery's 1.3 million barrel capacity was dedicated to brewing Webster's and Wilsons ales. However Courage also owned the more popular John Smith's ale brand, and Webster's was deprioritized.[58][59] John Smith's was the fourth best selling bitter in the country in 1990 and Webster's the sixth, so the decision was an obvious one.[60] The brands suffered further after the Scottish & Newcastle takeover of Courage, as S&N already owned a large number of ale brands, and a third Yorkshire bitter brand in Theakstons. Despite early success when it had been the only major ale brand in a national brewer's portfolio, in 1996 Scotland on Sunday described the beer as "staid" and argued that it "never caught on outside its Yorkshire heartland."[61] With the withdrawal of Webster's marketing support, John Smith's was outselling it three to one by 1996.[61]

[edit] Closure

In 1991 it was speculated that the brewery would be closed down due to overcapacity in the brewing industry.[62] The brewery's bottling line was closed in 1991, with the loss of 54 jobs, but the brewery itself survived for another five years.[62] At the time of its closure in November 1996, the brewery had employed 184 people on a site that had extended to ten hectares.[63][64] As well as Webster's and Wilson's beers, the brewery had been producing the lager brands Foster's and Molson.[65] The brewery had been running at "well below" 50 per cent of its 1.3 million barrel capacity which was deemed "unsustainable".[66][67] Although productivity per employee had been the highest of any of Scottish & Newcastle's brewing plants it was argued that the brewery would have required substantial investment if it was to remain competitive.[68][69] The Campaign for Real Ale argued that the closure of the brewery could have been avoided if the Webster's and Wilsons brands had been better managed.[70] The site is now taken up by residential housing, whilst the Grade II listed Long Can Hall has been converted into a restaurant and the Grade II listed Old Maltings building has been converted into an adult learning centre.[71] Following the closure, 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.[72] Scottish & Newcastle continued to provide funding for a former employees' annual Christmas lunch until 2003, when the Webster's brands were sold to Silvan Brands as part of the firm's strategy of disposing of non-core brands.[73][74][75] The chairman Brian Stewart remarked following the disposal that "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 - like Courage, Newcastle Exhibition and McEwan's."[76] Heineken UK have since sold the Courage and McEwan's brands to Wells & Youngs.[77]

[edit] Brands

[edit] Main

The Old Cock Inn, Halifax, dates from 1580 and was the flagship Webster's public house. Annual general meetings by the company's directors were held there until the company's takeover. The Halifax bank was founded there in 1853.

Launched in 1928, by the 1950s the bottled light mild Green Label (4.2 per cent ABV) was Webster's most popular beer.[78][79] At this time, bottled beers accounted for around half of all beer sales at the brewery, which reflected the national trend.[80] Due to its popularity, Green Label was introduced as a keg beer in 1974, replacing Webster's Best.[81][82] It was made with Styrian Goldings hops.[83] Pennine Bitter was introduced in April 1963 as Webster's first bitter brand as the style gained in popularity.[84] It was a high quality product and slightly stronger than most of its rivals.[84] It had a floral character as a result of the hops used, which were likely a variety of Kent Goldings and despite its name was created in the style of a Kentish bitter.[84] Green Label light mild had such a strong following in the Halifax area that it was not until the 1970s that Pennine Bitter was made generally available there.[84] "Pennine light mild" was a popular style unique to the Heavy Woollen District; other popular brands included Timothy Taylor Golden Best and Tetley Falstaff (which was previously brewed by Ramsden's of Halifax prior to their takeover by Tetley).[85] By the 1970s, Pennine Bitter and Green Label were firmly established as the predominant Webster's brands. In 1984 Green Label sold 90,000 barrels in Yorkshire alone.[52]

Webster's Yorkshire Bitter (3.8 per cent ABV) was launched in the summer of 1982 in both cask and keg form, replacing Webster's Pennine Bitter as their predominant bitter brand, as it was rapidly declining in popularity due to it being perceived as an "old man beer", its bitterness and its availability in the by then unfashionable keg dispense.[86][87] 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.[88][89] It was marketed as their response to the growing popularity of "Yorkshire bitter" in the south of England, particularly John Smith's, but also Tetley and Stones. Webster's Yorkshire Bitter was the most popular off trade bitter by 1985 with 18 per cent of the market.[90][91] It had become the highest selling bitter in the south of England and the fifth best selling bitter nationally by 1989, helped not least in part by its competitive price.[92][93][94] The beer was not without its critics, with the 1990 Good Beer Guide describing it as "golden [in] colour, weak flavour[ed], reminiscent of a poor quality home brew – worty, bland, cloying, with a dirty finish on the tongue." [95] In 1993 Yorkshire Bitter was reduced from 3.8 per cent alcohol by volume to 3.5 per cent ABV in order to save money on duty.[96] In 1994 the beer journalist Michael Jackson described Webster's beers as "light" and "faintly oily".[97] That same year Webster's Yorkshire Bitter won Gold at the Brewing Industry International Awards in the 2.5-3.8 per cent ABV keg ale category.[98]

When Scottish & Newcastle acquired the John Smith's and Webster's bitter brands as part of their takeover of Courage in 1995, the less popular Webster's brands were deprioritized, and virtually all marketing support ceased.[99] Since then, the Webster's brands have occupied the "value" end of the market.[100] In 1995-96, Yorkshire Bitter was still among the twenty five highest-selling beers in the UK, accounting for 0.8 per cent of all beer sales.[101] In 1998 the Yorkshire Bitter packaging was changed to the current one, with the graphic of the brewery replaced by the signature of Samuel Webster and the legend: "over 150 years of brewing tradition".[102] Between 2001 and 2007 sales declined from 80,000 to 40,000 barrels per year, and Roger Protz has described the brand as "almost redundant.".[103][104] The production of cask conditioned Webster's beer was ended in 2010.[105] Green Label (3.2 per cent ABV) remains available in kegs and Yorkshire Bitter (3.5 per cent ABV) is available in kegs and 500 ml cans.[106] On the popular beer rating site RateBeer Yorkshire Bitter is consistently ranked below similar bitters such as John Smith's and Tetley, but at a comparable level to Stones and Worthington.[107] The Webster's recipes have informed the beers of the Copper Dragon Brewery.[108]

[edit] Minor

In 1955 Webster's introduced the bottled Sam Brown Ale (2.8 per cent ABV), although its strength was upped to 3.4 per cent ABV by the 1980s.[80] The following year Webster's launched bottled Velvet Stout (2.9 per cent ABV) as a competitor to Mackeson Stout.[24][109] By the 1980s its strength had been increased to 4.2 per cent ABV, making it more of a competitor to Guinness. Data indicates that the Webster's range in the 1950s was watery.[79] The bottled beer brands were discontinued following the closure of the Webster's bottling plant in 1991. In 1983 a Webster's Dark Mild, brewed to OG 1031.0, was launched in both cask and keg form, and was available until the early 1990s.[110][111] During the 1970s Webster's Reserve was available, a strong draught keg beer. It was replaced in the mid 1980s by cask conditioned Samuel Websters Choice (4.6 per cent ABV), which was itself discontinued around 1992. Only pubs which were deemed to keep the best cellar conditions were allowed to sell it.[112] In 1988 an 8 per cent ABV commemorative beer was brewed to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the brewery.[113] In 1989 a short-lived low alcohol version of Webster's Yorkshire Bitter was launched, called Webster's XL.[114]

[edit] Advertising

A former Webster's public house, still sporting the brewery's livery.

Webster's utilized local television advertising for Green Label from 1961-66, with animated films featuring the character of "Wee Sam".[115] In 1964 the Doctor Who theme composer Ron Grainer created the "Wee Sam Theme" that was used in the advertisements.[116] Advertising was extended from Associated British Corporation to include Granada Television from 1967.[117] In the 1963 film This Sporting Life the slogan "Try Webster's Velvet Stout" is visible on the side of the rugby ground stand, which was filmed at Wakefield's Belle Vue rugby stadium.[118] Webster's Pennine Bitter had a number of memorable advertising campaigns. Perhaps its best known slogan was "Drives out the northern thirst" first used in 1970 and supported throughout the 1970s by a local television campaign featuring Yorkshire cricketer Fred Trueman.[119][120] 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."[121] The Halifax Courier commented, "quite how the northern thirst was different to the southern equivalent was never explained by the TV ads and billboards."[122] From 1979 the slogan ran: "Drink the Pennine way."[123] The actor Peter Davison followed as spokesman for Pennine Bitter until 1981.[124] Davison was forced to depart when he acquired the titular role of Doctor Who when the Independent Broadcasting Authority deemed it inappropriate for him to advertise beer whilst appearing in a programme that appealed to children.[124]

Webster's Yorkshire Bitter was launched in 1982 with a Yorkshire-only television campaign that urged viewers to "Watch out for Webbo!". It continued to run until 1984. The comedian Charlie Williams appeared in television advertisements for Yorkshire Bitter in 1984-85, which were the first adverts to showcase the new (and current) Webster's Yorkshire Bitter logo.[125] 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".[126] Real dray horses were used during the 1980s, but sophisticated animatronic puppets were used during the 1990s.[57] Between 1986–1988 £6.5 million was spent on advertising the brand; this was upped to £2 million each year for 1989 and 1990, and upped to £3 million in 1991.[127][128][129][130][131] In 1992 the spend was reduced to £400,000, although this was still enough to make Webster's Yorkshire Bitter the tenth most advertised beer brand on television.[132] The advertisements were an attempt to win back young drinkers who were increasingly drinking lager.[57][133] They were ineffective however, as research found that drinkers found the campaign "at best, safe and boring and, at worst, offensive".[134] The current slogan is "Perfect beers", a reversion to a slogan originally used from the 1920s until the 1960s.[113][135]

[edit] Sponsorship

Under the influence of Tommy Marchetti the company sponsored The Hallé orchestra to appear in Halifax to sell out audiences in 1966 and 1967.[117] The Guardian commented that their description of the venture as "Ale and Arty" was insufficient to deter it from running for a second year.[136] 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.[137] From 1986 to 1992 Webster's sponsored the Bradford Bulls rugby league team, 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.[138][139] Webster's also invested in sponsorships at several racecourses from the early 1970s until the early 1990s.[citation needed] In addition to this, they also supported other smaller sporting competitions, events and societies throughout Yorkshire. In 1988 (through Wilson's) the brewery sponsored the revival of the traditional pub game of log end darts in the North West of England, and in 1991 it sponsored a revival of knur and spell in West Yorkshire.[140]

[edit] References

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[edit] Further reading

  • 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, ISBN 9780198229766
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