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Then and now: The Spring Grove, at Kingston, and The Swan, Walton on Thames
It’s hard imagining a Britain without its pubs, and this year, to mark its 185th anniversary, Young & Co has taken a peek into its archives, discovering the stories played out in pubs in London’s colourful past.
Picture this. It’s London 1831, the iconic London Bridge has officially opened, it’s the coronation of William IV, Charles Darwin is about to embark on a historic voyage aboard HMS Beagle and Charles Allen Young and his partner, Anthony Forthergill Bainbridge, have founded Young’s.
Taking over The Ram Brewery and beginning with five pubs (The Castle, Isleworth; Hare and Hounds, East Sheen; Green Man, Putney; Brewers Inn, formerly Two Brewers, Wandsworth; and The Coach and Horses, Kew), they start one of London’s most successful pubs groups.
Young & Co timeline
1831: The average worker in Britain worked six days a week and the country’s landscape was still dramatically changing 70 years after the industrial revolution. On November 23, a site from which beer had been leaving the brewery gates since the 16th century is acquired by Charles Allen Young and Anthony Fothergill Bainbridge establishing the foundations of the modern Young’s Brewery.
1832: In the year of Great Reform Act and the birth year of Lewis Caroll, Young’s acquires a further four pubs; The Rose and Crown, Wimbledon; The Ship, Wandsworth; The Castle, Tooting; and The Bull, Streatham.
1835-1875: A typical year of this period saw the brewery producing about 40,000 barrels of beer from its Wandsworth site. Porter (what would be known today as a stout), the most predominant style of beer in England, went from being Young’s most popular seller at 70% to just 14% in 1874. Young’s also introduces a weak beer to cater to changing tastes in 1836: XC.
1864: Home-brewed Pale Ale is introduced in the UK by Young’s, the beginning of what is now known as Young’s Original Bitter, marking a major innovation within the sector.
1873: It is estimated that there are 300,000 working horses in London. Young’s stock books records the company owned 27 horses, the majority of which were black Shires valued at £25 each (roughly £2,725 today) and were one of the brewery’s heaviest expenses.
1893: Young’s registers the now iconic Dorset Horn ram as its emblem, with the beers becaming known as the Ram Brand.
1905: As demand for bottled beers grows, Young’s is “compelled” to set up its first bottling plant. One big reason is that higher taxes mean weaker beer, and weak draught beer went off more quickly than the bottled equivalent.
1919: Beer prices had scarcely increased since the 1850s, but following four years of war, prices had nearly doubled. The average price for a pint of ale is 4d (roughly a quarter of a penny), PA 6d and stout 8d.
1949: Young’s award-winning and best-loved Special is introduced as a stronger alternative to the company’s bitter. It is now called Young’s Special London Ale.
1987: The Queen Mother pulls a pint at the Queen’s Head, Stepney, with the picture becoming an iconic image for the brand, hung in pride of place at all Young’s pubs.
1997: Deliveries by horse-drawn dray cease, but on special occasions, they can still be found travelling around London, attending shows and promoting the company.
2010: Young & Co’s Brewery acquires Geronimo Inns. This marks a new period of expansion for Young’s, concentrating on food-focused venues, adapting to a shift in customer tastes in recent years.
2015: Now just a pub company, with its beers produced by Charles Wells, Young & Co’s Brewery launches The Burger Shack. This award-winning pop-up has now found a home at numerous pubs and hotels across the capital.
2016: Young & Co’s Brewery portfolio includes 132 Young’s managed pubs with 23 hotels, 80 Ram Pub Company tenancies and 40 Geronimo Inns.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
