[Drinking] Samuel Smiths Brewery (Humphrey Smith) - Fascinating Read

Bodian · Thursday at 9:59 PM

I found this very interesting.

Humphrey’s world: how the Samuel Smith beer baron built Britain’s strangest pub chain

Since the 1970s, Humphrey Smith has acquired scores of pubs and historic properties around the UK. But time after time, he has left the buildings empty. Why has he allowed his empire to moulder?

www.theguardian.com

clapham_gull · Thursday at 10:16 PM

Always the oddest pubs, I haven't been in the Chandos (near Trafalgar Square) or the John Snow in Soho for years.

I imagine they are the same as I left them.

jcdenton08 · Thursday at 10:20 PM

Bodian said:
I found this very interesting.

Humphrey’s world: how the Samuel Smith beer baron built Britain’s strangest pub chain

Since the 1970s, Humphrey Smith has acquired scores of pubs and historic properties around the UK. But time after time, he has left the buildings empty. Why has he allowed his empire to moulder?

www.theguardian.com

Very interesting read indeed, thank you for sharing. He, frankly, sounds like a complete prick.

Lethargic · Thursday at 10:21 PM

Friends living near Tadcaster say he has killed what was once a great village.

jcdenton08 · Thursday at 10:24 PM

When I lived in Yorkshire I visited his pubs often, because as the article states, they serve a cheap and consistently good pint. I remember being in the heart of York, not a cheap city, and paying £1.80 a pint circa 2010. Had no idea who ran the place, but as I say above, he sounds like a prize knob.

ROSM · Friday at 7:11 AM

Joe Lycett covered this story in a slightly different way a few years ago.

Herr Tubthumper · Friday at 7:30 AM

clapham_gull said:
Always the oddest pubs, I haven't been in the Chandos (near Trafalgar Square) or the John Snow in Soho for years.

I imagine they are the same as I left them.

The Chandos, that was a haunt of mine in the early to mid-90s. I also remember one on The Stand.

Dick Swiveller · Friday at 7:57 AM

clapham_gull said:
Always the oddest pubs, I haven't been in the Chandos (near Trafalgar Square) or the John Snow in Soho for years.

I imagine they are the same as I left them.

You can't comment on this thread. If you don't go to the John Snow, then you know nothing.

John Byrnes Mullet · Friday at 8:02 AM

Love Chando's. If I'm near always pop in for the organic chocolate stout. One of the best stouts IMHO.

Lethargic · Friday at 10:42 AM

John Byrnes Mullet said:
Love Chando's. If I'm near always pop in for the organic chocolate stout. One of the best stouts IMHO.

Try https://www.harpcoventgarden.com/
About 100yards along the road from Chandos

Sid and the Sharknados · Friday at 11:04 AM

jcdenton08 said:
When I lived in Yorkshire I visited his pubs often, because as the article states, they serve a cheap and consistently good pint. I remember being in the heart of York, not a cheap city, and paying £1.80 a pint circa 2010. Had no idea who ran the place, but as I say above, he sounds like a prize knob.

I had precisely the opposite view when I lived/worked in Yorkshire (I still go down for work but that's by the by). There are far too many decent pubs selling beer I actually like at prices that are fine to bother with the stuff Sam Smiths make.

I used to like the one by Tower Bridge in London when I was just out of uni and price was the single most important quality in a pub. Although my main memory of it now is that I think there was a weirdly specific charge for paying by card, like exactly 4.76% or something.

You're right incidentally, he does sound like a knob.

Arthur · Friday at 11:16 AM

clapham_gull said:
Always the oddest pubs, I haven't been in the Chandos (near Trafalgar Square) or the John Snow in Soho for years.

I imagine they are the same as I left them.

Funnily enough was in the Chandos last night......yeah it hasn't changed apart from the prices. Sam Smiths pubs used to be well known for being able to get a cheap pint because as the article states it's all their own jollop.

A bottle of Taddy Porter (which is a great beer) used to be in big pint-ish sized bottles now 330ml bottles was £7.10! Pint of their Stout was £6.90!

Thunder Bolt · Friday at 11:24 AM

The Smiths were a strange family at the beginning. John Smith started the brewery, run by his brother William. When William died he had no heirs so the brewery went to nephews Frank & & Henry (sons of Sarah married name Riley) who continued to use the name John Smith in a new brewery.
Another nephew Sam Smith, took over the old brewery buildings but called his business Sam Smith.

The Battle Between The Brewing Smiths

Y ou can spend too long sat inside reading old newspapers and cataloguing old postcards. There comes a time in the affairs of man when he s...

newsfromnowhere1948.blogspot.com

Brian Fantana · Friday at 11:41 AM

He seems to be to brewing and business what JRM is to politics - a curious individual on many levels, and in some areas a bit of a harmless eccentric, but with something of a troubling undertone in others.

clapham_gull · Friday at 12:31 PM

Arthur said:
Funnily enough was in the Chandos last night......yeah it hasn't changed apart from the prices. Sam Smiths pubs used to be well known for being able to get a cheap pint because as the article states it's all their own jollop.

A bottle of Taddy Porter (which is a great beer) used to be in big pint-ish sized bottles now 330ml bottles was £7.10! Pint of their Stout was £6.90!

London prices then....

Back in day always good for a cheap pint but analogous to a visit to ALDI/LIDL..

Penguin Lager
St George Export

I remember the bar staff being not particularly friendly when someone asked for a pint of Guinness.

clapham_gull · Friday at 12:33 PM

My go to cheap pub in the 90s was the Green Man and French Horn on St Martin's Lane.

Sadly long gone.

Guinness Boy · Friday at 12:35 PM

There was a Sam Smiths pub in Manchester I'm sure we used to go to before trips to places like Oldham because it was cheap. I remember the beer was pretty good too. I can't imagine we managed not to swear for two hours though.

Pevenseagull · Friday at 1:55 PM

In the late 80s I used to use The Fitzroy Tavern in Charlotte Street a lot.

There was a big portrait of Dylan Thomas with a little plaque above his 'favourite place to sit' (probably still there). One day when I went in the bloke who played the dim pub landlord in 'Brush Strokes' was sat there.

Arthur · Friday at 4:10 PM

clapham_gull said:
London prices then....

Back in day always good for a cheap pint but analogous to a visit to ALDI/LIDL..

Penguin Lager
St George Export

I remember the bar staff being not particularly friendly when someone asked for a pint of Guinness.

That was the thing....ten years ago (I know......but stay with me on this) you could go to a Sam Smiths pub in London and get a pint for pretty much half what it cost for anywhere else. I worked at Holborn at the time and it was cheaper than then 3 Wetherspoons near by to drink in the Princess Louise.

Pretty sure a big bottle of Taddy Porter was less than £3 then. Now it's a 1/3 of the size and as you say London prices.

CheeseRolls · Friday at 4:16 PM

Last time I was in Chandos, the service was so poor the staff were literally sneering at all the customers. They were fairly busy and clearly not enjoying it.

Got something to say or just want fewer pesky ads? Join us... 😊

[Drinking] Samuel Smiths Brewery (Humphrey Smith) - Fascinating Read

Well-known member

Legacy Fan

Offended Liver Sausage

Well-known member

Offended Liver Sausage

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Global Circumnavigator

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Silly old bat

Well-known member

Legacy Fan

Legacy Fan

Tofu eating wokerati

meh

Well-known member

Well-known member

Share this page