Arthur Guinness, Son and Co
of Dublin
of London
Guinness is a popular dry stout that originated in the Arthur Guinness' brewery at St. James's Gate in Dublin, Ireland. The beer is based on the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century. It is one of the most successful beer brands in the world, being exported worldwide.
1755 Arthur Guinness started brewing ales initially in Leixlip, County Kildare. See Guinness and Co
1759 He moved the business to Dublin, purchasing the existing plant of Mr. Rainsford.
1847 Arthur Guinness and Co occupied house, stores and vaults in Mercer St, Dublin[1]
1855 Arthur Hart Guinness died. The business was continued by Benjamin Lee Guinness (1798-1868). By this time the business seems to have adopted the name Arthur Guinness, Son and Co
1859 Patent by George Arthur Waller, of the city of Dublin, Brewer to Arthur Guinness, Son and Co., has given the like notice in respect of the invention of " improvements in the means of, and apparatus for, expressing liquid from semi-fluid substances, and other substances containing liquid."[2]
1877-8 A second brewery was built (and nearly doubled in size in 1886)
Before the close of the 19th century, the Guinness brewery had become the largest in the world. By this time, the Guinness product had been introduced into markets as far afield as America, Australia, the Far East and Africa.
1886 The company, Arthur Guinness, Son and Co, was floated on the London Stock Exchange as a limited company [3].
1899 The breweries pioneered several quality control efforts. The brewery hired the statistician William Sealy Gosset, who achieved lasting fame under the pseudonym "Student" for techniques developed for Guinness, particularly the Student's t-distribution and the even more commonly known Student's t-test.
1908 Directors: Visc. Iveagh, K.P. (Chairman), Col. G. W. Addison, Hon. A. E. Guinness (Joint Assistant Managing Director), Sir R. Guinness, Hon. R. E. C. L. Guinness, C.M.G., Hon. W. E. Guinness, M.P., Earl of Kenmare, C. D. La Touche (Managing Director), J. L. Pattisson, C.B., Col. H. W. Renny-Tailyour (Joint Assistant Managing Director), Lord Revelstoke, and C. E. Sutton (Joint Assistant Managing Director).
Pre-WWI A site for a brewery in England was purchased at Trafford Park, Manchester but not completed.
1929 "Employment level of 3,210 at St. James’ Gate in 1929, at a time when the next largest breweries in the country employed only around 200."[4]
1932 Parent company was headquartered in London.
1933 A site for a brewery in London was acquired at Park Royal
1936 Brewing started at Park Royal.
1952 The business in the British Isles was renamed Arthur Guinness, Son and Co. (Park Royal) Ltd
1956 Arthur Guinness and Son had acquired various confectionery activities during rationing - the investment consisted of an 80 percent holding in a group of companies which included William Nuttall, Callard and Bowser, Riley's of Halifax and the Lavells chain of shops; this investment accounted for most of the non-brewing profit that Guinness had made in the previous year[5]
1960 Arthur Guinness, Son and Philips Electrical jointly acquired Crookes Laboratories[6]
1974 Guinness brewed their last porter.
By 1976 the confectionery subsidiary was referred to as Callard and Bowser, Nuttall[7]
Ernest Saunders was recruited as chief executive, quickly disposing of many of the diversification activities.
1982 Sold Callard and Bowser, Nuttall
1983 Renamed Arthur Guinness, Son and Co. (Great Britain) Ltd
By the end of 1983 Guinness had sold 147 companies in total[8]
1984 Acquired the Neighbourhood chain of local stores, adding to its convenience shops in the Martins and Lavells chains[9]
1985 Took over Arthur Bell and Sons[10].
1986 Guinness acquired the Distillers Co, owner of brands such as Johnnie Walker Scotch Whisky among others. To avoid having the bid referred to the MMC, five of the combined group's Scotch Whisky brands were to be sold (including Buchanan and Haig[11] Claymore Whisky, John Barr, and the Real Mackenzie and some export brands).[12]
1987 Under the new chief executive, Anthony Tennant, the group sold all of its convenience stores, including Martins, R. S. McColl, Lavells, Lewis Meeson and the 7-Eleven franchise, in order to focus on its international beverages business.[13]
1987 United Distillers was formed from combining the businesses of Distillers Co and Arthur Bell and Sons, both owned by Guinness.
1988 Renamed Guinness Brewing Worldwide Ltd
1997 The company merged with the food and drink group Grand Metropolitan to form Diageo.
2005 The Guinness brewery in Park Royal, London closed and the production of all Guinness sold in the UK and Ireland was switched to St. James's Gate Brewery Dublin.
Guinness Stout is also brewed under licence internationally in several countries, including Nigeria and Indonesia. The unfermented but hopped Guinness wort extract is shipped from Dublin and blended with beer brewed locally.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ Griffith’s Valuation, 1847-1864
- ↑ London Gazette 15 March 1859
- ↑ The Times, Oct 22, 1886
- ↑ The Leading Manufacturing Firms in 1920s Dublin by Frank Barry, Trinity College Dublin, September 2017
- ↑ The Times, Feb 03, 1956
- ↑ The Times, Oct 29, 1960
- ↑ The Times, Dec 15, 1976
- ↑ The Times Nov. 2, 1983
- ↑ The Times Dec. 24, 1984
- ↑ The Times Sep 20, 1985
- ↑ The Times Mar. 21, 1986
- ↑ The Times Feb. 21, 1986
- ↑ The Times Apr. 3, 1987