Charles Wells Ltd Round Tin

Charles Wells Ltd tin tray dating from the 1970s.

Charles Wells Buys the Eagle Brewery

The original Eagle Brewery was was built on Horne Lane in Bedford around 1818.
Charles Wells, a retired navy man, purchased a coal wharf, a malt house, and the Eagle Brewery, with 35 public houses, at an auction in 1875.
By 1890 the Company was trading well and its estate totalled 80 tied pubs.
The firm's 'Starfish' trade mark was registered in 1896.
Realising that water was an essential part of the brewing process, Charles Wells sank his own well at Park Road North, to tap an underground reservoir of water purified through layers of chalk and limestone. The well still exists today.
In 1904 Charles's four eldest sons became partners in the business.
The Company was registered as Charles Wells Ltd in 1910.

67 Years of Brewing - 1910 to 1974

Charles Wells died in 1914, and Charles Ernest Wells became the firm's Chairman.
The Wells family continued to trade successfully, if not spectacularly, for almost 60 years, serving a mainly local area.

The Modern Era

Due to increased demand fot its beers, and having signed a deal with Desnoes and Geddes, which brewed Red Stripe lager, the decision was made to move its brewing operations.
A new Eagle Brewery was built on Havelock Street. which started in 1974 and became fully operational  in 1976, to replace the original outdated premises.
The new site included the most modern brewing equipment. and a state-of-the-art bottling plant.
The Horne Lane site was sold to the Bedford Corporation.
In 2006 Charles Wells Ltd announced a new joint venture with Young & Co's Brewery Ltd, becoming Wells & Young's Ltd.
Charles Wells owned a 60% stake. and Young & Co's Brewery Ltd owned 40%.
At the same time, the Charles Wells Pub Company was formed as a separate business in order to manage its combined estate of over 200 public houses.
The Company expanded its range of beers when it acquired the Courage brands from Scottish & Newcastle in 2007, and McEwans & Youngers brands in 2011.
Charles Wells purchased Young's 40% stake and became sole owners of the business in 2011.
In 2015 the Company reunited the different arms of the business becoming Charles Wells Ltd once again.
In 2017 Marstons PLC purchased the brewing business together with the rights to its Bombadier, McEwans and Youngers beers.
Charles Wells Ltd retained its pub estate.
A new business, Wells & Co., opened a new 'Brewpoint' brewery at Fairhill near Bedford in 2020 to supply its 200 pubs with a wide range of its own ales. The site also includes a 'nano' brewery for experimentation. The Company also directly owns and manages 13 pubs in France, trading under the name of the John Bull Pub Company.
Following Marstons PLC merger with Carlsberg, the Eagle Brewery was sold to the Spanish company S.A.Damm.

The manufacturer's mark states - Salesprint & Display Limited. Burton Upon Trent.