Our History
1890 - The Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries, PLC was formed as a public company in 1890 by an amalgamation of three local businesses, Banks and Company (who had been brewing at Park Brewery, Wolverhampton since 1875), George Thompson and Sons of The Dudley and Victoria Breweries, Dudley, and Charles Colonel Smith's brewery at the Fox Brewery, Wolverhampton.
1947 - The company was listed on the London stock exchange.
1992 - In January, W&DB acquired Camerons Brewery in Hartlepool. Along with the brewery, over 150 pubs and 300 customer accounts became part of the W & DB business.
1999 - In February, W&DB acquired Marston, Thompson & Evershed, based in Burton on Trent and operating 918 pubs primarily in the East Midlands, North West and North Wales. In addition to the pub estate, W&DB acquired Marston's Brewery - Established for over 100 years using the Burton Union System to brew high quality draught ales including the flagship premium ale, Marston's Pedigree, which is sold nationally.
Towards the end of 1999 W&DB also acquired The Mansfield Brewery Company, Mansfield, which brought with it a brewery, some excellent local beer brands and an extensive estate of managed and tenanted pubs as well as valuable Free Trade business in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire areas.
2001 - Brewing of Mansfield Beers was transferred to Park Brewery, Wolverhampton.
2002- In April, W & DB sold the Camerons brewery site to Castle Eden Brewery.
2004 - In June, W & DB acquired Wizard Inns Limited - an estate of 63 high quality managed outlets, located mainly in the south of England.
2005- in January, the acquisition of Burtonwood plc increased W&DB's pub estate to over 2,100 pubs - the third largest by number in the country.
In May, the acquisition of Jennings Brothers plc increased W&DB's pub estate to over 2,250 pubs. In addition W&DB acquired the Jennings Brewery producing a portfolio of quality ale brands.
In October, W&DB acquired English Country Inns plc - an estate of 14 pubs.
2007 - On January 8th The Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries PLC changed its name to Marston's PLC. This change was to reflect the fact that in recent year the company had become a national business, as demonstrated by the growth of the Marston's brands and the acquisition and development of the pub estate across the country. The change of name also represented an opportunity to emphasise the companies tradition, heritage and values, and to better promote our pubs across the country.
In January, Marston's acquired Eldridge Pope (Nouveaustar Limited) - an estate of over 100 pubs based mainly in the South of England.
In July, Marston's acquired Ringwood Brewery Limited - its brands include award winning beers such as Ringwood Best Bitter, Old Thumper and Fortyniner. The business supplies approximately 700 customers, predominantly in the South of England and seven high quality, freehold, traditional pubs.
2008 - In April, Marston's acquired Ryland Thompson Limited and its subsidiaries, of which Refresh UK plc ('Refresh') is the trading arm. Refresh was established in 2000. Its Wychwood Brewery in Witney, Oxfordshire brews 50,000 barrels of beer per annum, including award winning brands such as Hobgoblin and Brakspear.
Present day...
- Marston's PLC is one of the top 250 quoted companies in the UK.
- Our pub estate totals 2,259 pubs - 1,753 tenancies within Marston's Pub Company and 506 directly managed by Marston's Inns and Taverns.
- We are the largest independent brewing group.
- We pride ourselves on the consistently excellent quality of our beers, brewed in the traditional way using the very best quality natural ingredients.
- In addition to brewing, we also package beers and lagers in kegs, cans and bottles and sell a full range of wines, spirits and minerals to an extensive collection of Free Trade and National Accounts customers.
