page_title: Walter Gilbey
section_title: Growth and distribution
hierarchical_section_title: Walter Gilbey / Growth and distribution
caption_attribution_description: English: An enamel sign on the Great Central Railway, Loughborough
context_page_description: Sir Walter Gilbey, 1st Baronet, DL was an English wine-merchant and philanthropist.
context_section_description: The Cape wines proved popular, and within three years the brothers had 20,000 customers on their books. The creation of the off-licence system by William Ewart Gladstone, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, in 1860, followed by the large reduction in the duty on French wines effected by the commercial treaty between England and France in 1861, revolutionized their trade and laid the foundation of their fortunes.
  Three provincial grocers, who had been granted the new off-licence, applied to be appointed the Gilbeys agents in their respective districts, and many similar applications followed. These were granted, and before very long a leading local grocer was acting as the firm's agents in every district in England.
  The grocer who dealt in the Gilbeys' wines and spirits was not allowed to sell those of any other firm, and the Gilbeys in return handed over to him all their existing customers in his district. This arrangement was of mutual advantage, and the Gilbeys' business increased so rapidly that, in 1864, Henry Gilbey abandoned his own undertaking to join his brothers. In 1867 the three brothers secured the old Pantheon theatre and concert hall in Oxford Street for their headquarters. In 1875, the firm purchased a large claret-producing estate in Medoc, on the banks of the Gironde, and became also the proprietors of two large whisky-distilleries in Scotland. In 1893 the business was converted, for family reasons, into a private limited liability company, of which Walter Gilbey, who in the same year was created a baronet, was chairman.
caption: A sign for Spey-Royal Scotch Whisky at Loughborough Central railway station on the Great Central Railway (heritage railway)
exif: {"Image Make": "Apple", "Image Model": "iPhone 6", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Photos 4.0", "Image DateTime": "2018:06:13 16:21:22", "Image ExifOffset": "186", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/100", "EXIF FNumber": "11/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "50", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2018:06:13 16:21:22", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2018:06:13 16:21:22", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "18513/2786", "EXIF ApertureValue": "7983/3509", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "21278/3849", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "83/20", "EXIF SubjectArea": "[1631, 1223, 1795, 1077]", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "287", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "287", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3090", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2135", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "29", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[2175733/524273, 2175733/524273, 11/5, 11/5]", "EXIF LensMake": "Apple", "EXIF LensModel": "iPhone 6 back camera 4.15mm f/2.2"}