Charles Wells
Encyclopedia
Charles Wells Ltd is the holding company of the Charles Wells Pub Company, a pub chain
, and 60% shareholder of Wells & Young's, a brewing company formed from the merger of the brewing operations of Young's Brewery
with Charles Wells. Charles Wells Ltd was founded in 1876 by Charles Wells in Bedford
, England
.
The Charles Wells Pub Company controls 237 public houses in England and four in France. Wells & Young's brew Charles Wells, Young's and Courage brand beers, along with contract beers, such as Kirin Ichiban and Red Stripe
.
as it ran through Bedford. This site contained both a coal depot and a brew house; included in the price were 35 pubs, mainly in Bedford and the surrounding area.
Wells thought that beer would always be in demand, and with the help of his father he purchased the site and began work to turn the small brew house into a fully fledged brewery which could serve the county.
As water is an essential ingredient for any beer, good quality water is needed in order to create the best beer. In 1902, Wells climbed a local hill a couple of miles from the brewery and sank his own well to tap into an underground reservoir of water, purified through layers of chalk
and limestone
. All Charles Wells beer, and with the recent joint venture with Youngs
all Youngs
beers, are made with water drawn from this well.
By 1976, exactly 100 years since the company was established, the brewing operation moved from the Horne Lane site to a new site, the Eagle Brewery on Havelock Street. The move came about due to an increased demand for the company's beers, spurred on by a deal with Red Stripe brewery Desnoes & Geddes
. This offered the company the chance to install the most up-to-date brewing equipment, and a state of the art bottling line.
The company is still in the family's hands, with the fifth generation coming into the business. There are currently three members of the family who work at the brewery, all serving on the boards of directors for both Charles Wells and Wells & Young's. Charles Wells Pub Company has an estate of more than 250 pubs across the Eastern region, while Wells & Young's beers are distributed through both the Charles Wells and Young's pub estates.
. In the late 1860s, Wells was promoted to Chief Officer when he fell in love with and proposed to a Josephine Grimbley. Unfortunately, his prospective father-in-law put paid to his plans when he announced that no daughter of his would marry a man who would be away at sea for months at a time. And so Wells, desperate to marry his sweetheart, left his sea-faring career and in 1876 established the Charles Wells Family Brewery to provide beer
for the local population of Bedfordshire.
for Charles Wells Ltd when the parent company merged its brewing operations with London's Young's Brewery to form Wells & Young's Brewery
. The pub company controls 251 houses, all run on tenancy or lease agreements, and declared an operating profit of £6 million in December 2008.
The company has become well known for the support it gives to its licensees and won the title of Pub Company of the Year (tenanted/leased 200+) at The Publican Awards for two years running - in 2009 and 2010. Charles Wells also won The Retention Award at the Springboard Awards for Excellence 2010 in recognition of its work in recruiting, training and supporting licensees.
It's 5 day induction programme (CRISP - Charles Wells Retail Induction Support Programme)helps prepare licensees for every aspect of running their own business and is part of their comprehensive training schedule which is open to everyone.
brewery, who moved their brewing production from the Ram Brewery in Wandsworth. The firm is called Wells & Young Brewing, with Charles Wells having a 60% stake and Young & Co 40%, it went into operation on the 2nd October 2006. Wells & Youngs are now responsible for brewing, distributing and marketing Charles Wells' and Young & Co's brands at the Eagle Brewery in Bedford. The company is operated at arms' length from both Young's and Charles Wells, which retain their separate distribution networks. Directors from both companies sit on the Wells & Young's Board.
Pub chain
A pub chain is a group of pubs or bars with a brand image. The brand may be owned outright by one company, or there may be multiple financiers; the chain may be a division within a larger company, or may be a single operation. Examples include Chef & Brewer, Wetherspoons, Walkabout, Taylor Walker...
, and 60% shareholder of Wells & Young's, a brewing company formed from the merger of the brewing operations of Young's Brewery
Young's Brewery
Young's is a British pub chain operating nearly 220 pubs.The company was founded as a brewery in 1831 by Charles Young and Anthony Bainbridge when they purchased the Ram Brewery in Wandsworth...
with Charles Wells. Charles Wells Ltd was founded in 1876 by Charles Wells in Bedford
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The Charles Wells Pub Company controls 237 public houses in England and four in France. Wells & Young's brew Charles Wells, Young's and Courage brand beers, along with contract beers, such as Kirin Ichiban and Red Stripe
Red Stripe
Red Stripe is a Jamaican lager beer whose logo is a bold, diagonal red stripe. It is brewed by Desnoes & Geddes Limited, originally a soft drink manufacturer incorporated on July 31, 1918, by Kingston, Jamaica natives Eugene Peter Desnoes and Thomas Hargreaves Geddes...
.
History
Charles Wells Ltd (also known as Charles Wells Brewery and Pub Company, and previously as Charles Wells Family Brewery) was founded by Charles Wells in 1876. In 1875, a two and a quarter acre site came to auction on the banks of the River OuseRiver Great Ouse
The Great Ouse is a river in the east of England. At long, it is the fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The river has been important for navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows. Its course has been modified several times, with the first recorded being in...
as it ran through Bedford. This site contained both a coal depot and a brew house; included in the price were 35 pubs, mainly in Bedford and the surrounding area.
Wells thought that beer would always be in demand, and with the help of his father he purchased the site and began work to turn the small brew house into a fully fledged brewery which could serve the county.
As water is an essential ingredient for any beer, good quality water is needed in order to create the best beer. In 1902, Wells climbed a local hill a couple of miles from the brewery and sank his own well to tap into an underground reservoir of water, purified through layers of chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
and limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
. All Charles Wells beer, and with the recent joint venture with Youngs
Young's Brewery
Young's is a British pub chain operating nearly 220 pubs.The company was founded as a brewery in 1831 by Charles Young and Anthony Bainbridge when they purchased the Ram Brewery in Wandsworth...
all Youngs
Young's Brewery
Young's is a British pub chain operating nearly 220 pubs.The company was founded as a brewery in 1831 by Charles Young and Anthony Bainbridge when they purchased the Ram Brewery in Wandsworth...
beers, are made with water drawn from this well.
By 1976, exactly 100 years since the company was established, the brewing operation moved from the Horne Lane site to a new site, the Eagle Brewery on Havelock Street. The move came about due to an increased demand for the company's beers, spurred on by a deal with Red Stripe brewery Desnoes & Geddes
Desnoes & Geddes
Desnoes and Geddes Limited is a Jamaican brewer and beverage producer. D&G was formed in 1918 by Eugene Peter Desnoes and Thomas Hargreaves Geddes, who combined their two shops into one business....
. This offered the company the chance to install the most up-to-date brewing equipment, and a state of the art bottling line.
The company is still in the family's hands, with the fifth generation coming into the business. There are currently three members of the family who work at the brewery, all serving on the boards of directors for both Charles Wells and Wells & Young's. Charles Wells Pub Company has an estate of more than 250 pubs across the Eastern region, while Wells & Young's beers are distributed through both the Charles Wells and Young's pub estates.
Charles Wells
Charles Wells, after whom the company is named, was born in Bedford in 1842; he left school at the age of 14 and ran away to sea by boarding the frigate 'Devonshire' which was bound for IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. In the late 1860s, Wells was promoted to Chief Officer when he fell in love with and proposed to a Josephine Grimbley. Unfortunately, his prospective father-in-law put paid to his plans when he announced that no daughter of his would marry a man who would be away at sea for months at a time. And so Wells, desperate to marry his sweetheart, left his sea-faring career and in 1876 established the Charles Wells Family Brewery to provide beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
for the local population of Bedfordshire.
Charles Wells Pub Company
The Charles Wells Pub Company was formed as a distinct pub estatePub chain
A pub chain is a group of pubs or bars with a brand image. The brand may be owned outright by one company, or there may be multiple financiers; the chain may be a division within a larger company, or may be a single operation. Examples include Chef & Brewer, Wetherspoons, Walkabout, Taylor Walker...
for Charles Wells Ltd when the parent company merged its brewing operations with London's Young's Brewery to form Wells & Young's Brewery
Wells & Young's Brewery
Wells & Young's Brewery was formed in October 2006 from the merger of the brewing operations of Charles Wells Ltd and Young's Brewery. Charles Wells have a 60% stake and Young's 40%. Wells & Young's is now responsible for brewing, distributing and marketing Charles Wells' and Young & Co's brands...
. The pub company controls 251 houses, all run on tenancy or lease agreements, and declared an operating profit of £6 million in December 2008.
The company has become well known for the support it gives to its licensees and won the title of Pub Company of the Year (tenanted/leased 200+) at The Publican Awards for two years running - in 2009 and 2010. Charles Wells also won The Retention Award at the Springboard Awards for Excellence 2010 in recognition of its work in recruiting, training and supporting licensees.
It's 5 day induction programme (CRISP - Charles Wells Retail Induction Support Programme)helps prepare licensees for every aspect of running their own business and is part of their comprehensive training schedule which is open to everyone.
Wells & Young's
On 23 May 2006 the company announced that it was to form a new joint venture brewing company with the Young & Co'sYoung's Brewery
Young's is a British pub chain operating nearly 220 pubs.The company was founded as a brewery in 1831 by Charles Young and Anthony Bainbridge when they purchased the Ram Brewery in Wandsworth...
brewery, who moved their brewing production from the Ram Brewery in Wandsworth. The firm is called Wells & Young Brewing, with Charles Wells having a 60% stake and Young & Co 40%, it went into operation on the 2nd October 2006. Wells & Youngs are now responsible for brewing, distributing and marketing Charles Wells' and Young & Co's brands at the Eagle Brewery in Bedford. The company is operated at arms' length from both Young's and Charles Wells, which retain their separate distribution networks. Directors from both companies sit on the Wells & Young's Board.