page_title: Webster's Brewery
section_title: Fountain Head Brewery
hierarchical_section_title: Webster's Brewery / Fountain Head Brewery
caption_attribution_description: English: The former Fountain Head Brewery, Halifax, West Yorkshire
context_page_description: Webster's Brewery was a brewery that was founded in 1838 by Samuel Webster and operated at the Fountain Head Brewery in Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Webster's Green Label, a light mild, and Yorkshire Bitter gained national distribution after the company was taken over by Watney Mann in 1972. Throughout the 1970s it was known for the advertising slogan: "Drives out the northern thirst".
  The brewery was closed with the loss of 400 jobs in 1996. The brand had suffered lower sales after marketing support was withdrawn following its acquisition by Courage Brewery in 1990. After the brewery's closure, Webster's beers were initially brewed at the John Smith's Brewery in Tadcaster before moving to the Thomas Hardy Brewery at Burtonwood in 2004. Silvan Brands have owned the company since 2003 when they acquired it from Scottish & Newcastle.
context_section_description: The brewery site was chosen for its Pennine spring which provided the ready water supply necessary for brewing. The water was rich in magnesium sulphate which added bitterness to the beer and provided it with a dry finish. In 1873 the brewery was extended and redeveloped. In 1890 the brewery was linked to the Halifax High Level Railway network, which facilitated the brewery's distribution. In 1900 the Château-influenced maltings building was built as part of a £10,000 (£1 million in 2010) development project. By 1958 the company's existing offices in Northgate, Halifax, were proving too small for the expanding company, and new offices were custom built on the Ovenden Wood site. The landmark maltings building was closed in 1960 as its 12,000 stone (76,000 kg) per annum capacity proved insufficient for the brewery's increasing needs, and the building was used for storage.
  In 1973, Watney Mann commissioned a new brewhouse. In 1979 a new £6 million lager plant was started, initially brewing Holsten. By the early 1980s the brewery had beer production volumes of around 400,000 barrels per annum and employed around 600 people. At this time, the brewery was described as "wonderfully traditional" by Roger Protz and had open fermentation vessels, mash tuns and copper brewing vessels. Production of Budweiser began in 1984. Having previously been used for storage, in 1986 the historic Long Can Hall was converted to function as the brewery's visitor's centre.
  A £10 million expansion project was embarked upon at the brewery in 1988. Construction of a new plant increased brewing capacity from 1 million to 1.3 million barrels a year. In 1989, the derelict former maltings building was converted into brewery offices in a £4 million project. Also, a new distribution depot was constructed in Elland.
  In 1990, the Old Maltings was categorised as a Grade II listed building. By 1990, most of the Fountain Head Brewery was dedicated to brewing Webster's and Wilsons ales. The brewery's bottling line was closed in 1991, resulting in the loss of 54 jobs.
  At the time of the brewery's closure in November 1996, it employed 184 people on a ten hectare site. As well as Webster's and Wilson's beers, the brewery had been producing the lager brands Foster's and Molson. The brewery had been running at "well below" 50 per cent of its 1.3 million barrel capacity which was deemed "unsustainable" according to Scottish & Newcastle management. Although productivity per employee had been the highest of any of Scottish & Newcastle's brewing plants it was claimed that it would have required substantial investment if it was to remain competitive.
  In 2004, housing was built on the former brewery site. After a period of dormancy, the Old Maltings reopened as a children's day nursery in 2007, and a school and community centre was opened alongside the nursery in 2011. The Maltings College sixth form opened at the site in 2013.
caption: The Old Maltings, since converted into a school, nursery and community centre.
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