Webster's Brewery

Webster's Brewery (Samuel Webster & Sons Ltd), was founded in 1838 by Samuel Webster and operated at the Fountain Head Brewery in Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Webster's Green Label, a light mild, and Yorkshire Bitter gained national distribution after the company was taken over by Watney Mann in 1972. Throughout the 1970s it was known for the advertising slogan: "Drives out the northern thirst".

The brewery was closed with the loss of 400 jobs in 1996. The brand had suffered lower sales after marketing support was withdrawn following its acquisition by Courage Brewery in 1990. After the brewery's closure, Webster's beers were initially brewed at the John Smith's Brewery in Tadcaster before moving to the Thomas Hardy Brewery at Burtonwood in 2004. Silvan Brands have owned the company since 2003 when they acquired it from Scottish & Newcastle.

Samuel Webster (1813–1872) was born in Ovenden, a small village about 2 miles from Halifax town centre. He was the eldest of seven brothers born into a Congregationalist family of the 10 acre-owning farmer James Webster. Webster acquired the small Fountain Head Brewery in Ovenden Wood in 1838 when he was 25 and opened an office in Union Cross Yard, Halifax. The company bought its first public house in 1845. 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. Samuel Webster died in 1872, leaving his sons to continue the business. The firm also imported and sold wines and cigars, in addition to its brewing concerns.

By 1880 the company had 100 tied houses. 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. In 1892 net profit was £20,000 (£2 million in 2010). In 1896 the company took over H & T T Ormerod of Brighouse, West Yorkshire which could trace its origins back to 1760. Isaac Webster died in 1899, leaving an estate of £87,454 (£9 million). By 1900 the company's office had moved to 57 Northgate, Halifax.