Page 18 - Oundle Life May 2024

© Stone image credit courtesy of Paul Coles ww.oundleinpictures.org.uk
Michael Smtih had been killed in the early stages of World War I. Instead, John’s widow, Mary Smith took over the running of the business.
By the early 1920s the former manager of the brewery, Basil Ludlow, became a partner and, when he died in 1834,
his son Guy took his place. The
company was incorporated as Smith & Co (Oundle) in 1935 and was, by then, supplying some 85 pubs all over Northamptonshire.
at £40 million, which equates to £658 million in today’s money.
After the brewing process moved to Newark, the original brewery site in Oundle was used for stores and offices before houses were built over
When Guy Ludlow died in 1954 the business was bought by Warwicks and Richardsons Limited of Newark-on-
Trent. John Smith’s beer found an extremely receptive audience amongst Yorkshire miners and the brewery couldn’t make beer fast enough.
When Warwicks & Richardsons merged with John Smith’s Tadcaster brewery in 1962, the brewing process was moved to Newark. The last brew was produced in Oundle on September 11th of that year.
In 1970 Courage purchased John Smiths in a friendly takeover, with the brewery being valued
Today, John Smiths is the best- selling ale in Britain with 1.3 million hectolitres being produced each year by current owners Heineken. And it all started in Oundle.
The Smith brewery was the only major business in Oundle at that time
it in the 1980s.
The Trademark of the John Smith
Brewery was made up of three tuns (large beer casks) and the initials ‘JS’. This stone (above) use to be situated
on the brewery in North Street, before being moved to its present position overlooking the courtyard at the rear of The Talbot in 1963.
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Stuart Barker is a professional writer and author. He has a keen interest in local history and likes nothing better than riding round Northants visiting historical sites on his motorcycle.