Background
Samuel Whitbread was born at Cardington in Bedfordshire, the seventh of eight children.
Samuel Whitbread was born at Cardington in Bedfordshire, the seventh of eight children.
In 1742, he established a brewery that in 1799 became Whitbread & Company Limited.
He left for London aged 14 and became an apprentice to a London brewer, John Witman. Whitbread became very rich and bought Lord Torrington"s Southill Estate, Elstow Manor, and other substantial property. When he died on 11 June 1796, the Gentleman"s Magazine claimed that he was "worth over a million pounds".
Demand for the strong, black porter meant the business had to move to larger premises in Chiswell Street in 1750.
Starting over, Whitbread invested in all the latest technology to industrialize production, storing the beer in large vats. The brewery was also one of the first to employ a steam engine (purchasing a sun and planet gear engine, the Whitbread Engine, from James Watt"s company in 1785).
By 1760, it had become the second largest brewery in London (producing almost 64,000 barrels annually). Five years later Whitbread bought out Shewell for £30,000.
By the end of the century, Whitbread"s business was London"s biggest producer of beer, producing 202,000 barrels in 1796.
In May 1787 the brewery was visited by King George III and Queen Charlotte. He was an early supporter for the abolition of slavery, took part in some of the anti-slavery debates of 1788 in the House of Commons and introduced a minimum wage bill to the House in 1795, which was rejected by then Prime Minister William Pitt.
13th Parliament of Great Britain. 14th Parliament of Great Britain. 15th Parliament of Great Britain.
16th Parliament of Great Britain.
17th Parliament of Great Britain]
Whitbread was appointed High Sheriff of Hertfordshire for 1767-1768 and elected for Bedford in 1768, and held the seat until 1790, and then represented Steyning from 1792 to 1796.