J.W. Lees & Co (Brewers) Ltd is a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

and pub company in

Middleton, Greater Manchester Middleton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, on the River Irk southwest of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester city centre. Middleton had a population of 42,972 at the 2011 Census. It lies on the ...

, that has produced

real ale Real ale is the name coined by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) for beer that is "brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous car ...

since 1828. The brewery owns and operates 150

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s, inns and hotels mainly in North West England and

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...

. It also owns

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

distributor Willoughby's.

History

The brewery was formed in 1828 when retired cotton manufacturer John Lees purchased land in

Middleton, Lancashire Middleton is a village and civil parish in the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England, between Heysham and Overton. It had a population of 705 in 2011. Middleton was the location of Middleton Tower Holiday Camp A holiday camp is a type ...

and built Greengate Brewery, from which the company still operates. The company was renamed J.W. Lees & Co. Brewers when his grandson, John William Lees, took over the company in 1876 and was re-incorporated in 1955 when R.W.T. Lees-Jones bought the share capital of the company back under single ownership. The company is still family owned and operated. When William, Simon, Christina, Anna and Michael Lees-Jones joined Richard and Christopher at J.W. Lees in the 1990s, they were the sixth generation from the founder to work in the company. In 2004, Greengate Brewery featured in the television show

Most Haunted ''Most Haunted'' is a British paranormal reality television series. Following complaints, the broadcast regulator, Ofcom, ruled that it was an entertainment show, not a legitimate investigation into the paranormal, and "should not be taken ser ...

, and in 2003

HRH Royal Highness is a style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes or princesses. Monarchs and their consorts are usually styled ''Majesty''. When used as a direct form of address, spoken or written, it takes ...

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

visited to celebrate the brewery's 175th anniversary. In 2011, J.W. Lees announced a new beer, The Governor, in collaboration with chef Marco Pierre White, and in 2018 The Governor Lager was added to the range. Also in 2018, the company announced a collaboration with physicist Brian Cox, an amber ale entitled Cosmic Brew. In 2018, the brewery converted the old boiler house on site into a microbrewery in order to create more experimental small barrelage productions. In 2019, J.W. Lees won Best Brewing Pub company at the publican awards.

Beers

Pint of Manchester Pale Ale next to pump clip

Draught Bottled In addition, J.W. Lees brews

Ansells Ansells Brewery was a regional brewery founded in Aston, Birmingham, England in 1858. It merged with Taylor Walker and Ind Coope in 1961 to form Allied Breweries. The brewery remained in operation until 1981, after which production transferred ...

Mild and Carlsberg Lager.

Boilerhouse Microbrewery

In 2018, the brewery converted their historic boiler house into a microbrewery. Overseen by head brewer Michael Lees-Jones, the boilerhouse allows small batch productions of more unusual and niche beers. Past productions have included a Vanilla White Stout, Chocolate Orange Mild and Strawberry Milkshake IPA.

Public Houses

J.W. Lees has around 150 public houses, inns and hotels, primarily in residential areas in the North West of England and North Wales. The majority of these are run by tenant landlords, while roughly one third of the houses are managed by the brewery. The core of J.W. Lees' estate is situated in North Manchester and Oldham. This stems from the time of horse drawn dray wagons and how far they might travel in a day. The advent of motor travel allowed the brewery to acquire sites further afield, with the company gradually expanding its pub estate into wider Lancashire, Cheshire, North Wales and Yorkshire. In 2009 J.W. Lees bought ten pubs from

Punch Taverns Punch Pubs & Co is a pub and bar operator in the United Kingdom, with around 1,300 leased pubs. It is headquartered in the traditional brewing centre of Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange as a constit ...

and has continued to steadily grow its estate.

Inns and Hotels

J.W. Lees operates a number of Inns and Hotels including The Alderley Edge Hotel, The Stanneylands Hotel and the Trearddur Bay Hotel.

Willoughby's Wine Merchants

Willoughby's is the name of J.W. Lees' wines and spirits operation. Willoughby's has its own illustrious heritage stemming back to 1850 when it was founded by Frank Stanley Willoughby in Stockport. Willoughby's has grown by acquisition of wine merchants including Thomas Batey and Sons, Duttons of Chester, Scatchards of Liverpool, Yates Brothers of Bolton and Lakeland Vintners in Bowness. In 2012 Willoughby's ceased to operate any retail premises but continues to supply many licensed leisure venues through direct delivery.

References

External links

JW Lees Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jw Lees Brewery Companies based in Rochdale Borough Breweries in England British companies established in 1828 Middleton, Greater Manchester Food and drink companies established in 1828 1828 establishments in England