Wells & Co facts for kids

Wells & Co.

Industry	Hospitality industry and alcoholic beverages
Founded	1876
Founder	Charles Wells
Headquarters	Bedford , England
Key people	Peter Wells, Paul Wells
Products	Public houses and beer
Revenue	£225.1 million
Divisions	Charles Wells Brewery (formerly Wells & Young's Brewery), Charles Wells Pub Company, John Bull Pub Company, Cockburn and Campbell Wines, Apostrophe Pubs, and Pizza, Pots and Pints.

Wells & Co. is a company that runs pubs and used to brew beer. It was started in 1876 by a man named Charles Wells in Bedford, England. Today, the company is still run by the Wells family. They own and manage many pubs.

The company used to have a big brewery. In 2017, they sold most of their beer brands and the brewery to another company called Marston's. But they kept their own "Charlie Wells" beer brands. They also decided to build a new, smaller brewery.

The Story of Charles Wells

Charles Wells, the person the company is named after, was born in Bedford in 1842. When he was 14, he left school and became a sailor. He traveled to places like India.

In the late 1860s, Charles became a Chief Officer on a ship. He fell in love with Josephine Grimbley. But Josephine's father did not want her to marry a sailor who would be away for many months. So, Charles left his life at sea. In 1876, he started the Charles Wells Family Brewery. He wanted to make beer for the people in Bedfordshire.

How the Brewery Began

In 1875, Charles Wells saw a piece of land for sale. It was next to the River Ouse in Bedford. The land had a coal depot and a small brew house. It also came with 35 pubs in and around Bedford.

Charles believed that people would always want beer. So, with help from his father-in-law, he bought the land. He then worked hard to turn the small brew house into a proper brewery. He wanted it to serve the whole county.

Water is very important for making good beer. In 1902, Charles climbed a nearby hill. He dug his own well to get water from an underground reservoir. This water was naturally cleaned by layers of chalk and limestone. Even today, all the beers made by the company use this special mineral water.

An old Charles Wells beer bottle from the late 1800s or early 1900s. It has the company's old starfish symbol. You can see it at The Higgins museum.

Moving to a New Brewery

By 1976, exactly 100 years after the company started, the brewing moved. It went from the old Horne Lane site to a new place called the Eagle Brewery. This move happened because more people wanted Charles Wells' beers. A deal with a company called Desnoes & Geddes helped them grow.

The new brewery had the latest brewing machines. It also had a very modern bottling line. This helped them make and bottle more beer.

A close-up of the "STAR FISH" art from an old Charles Wells bottle.

Charles Wells Pub Company

The Charles Wells Pub Company runs many pubs. It was created when the main company joined its brewing with Young's Brewery. This new company was called Wells & Young's Brewery.

The pub company looks after more than 200 pubs. These pubs are mostly in the East and North Home Counties of England. The company also owns 13 pubs in France. These are part of the John Bull Pub Company. They also have pubs in England called Apostrophe Pubs and Pizza, Pots and Pints.

The company is known for helping the people who run their pubs. They have won awards for being a great pub company. They also won awards for finding, training, and supporting new pub owners.

A New Brewery: Brewpoint

After selling their Eagle Brewery, Charles Wells decided to focus more on their pubs. But they also wanted to keep making their own beers. So, they built a new, smaller brewery in Bedford.

This new brewery is called Brewpoint. It was finished in July 2020. Brewpoint makes beers only for the Charles Wells pubs.