Hurns Brewing Company
Welsh drinks company and former owner of Tomos Watkin beers.
Last updated
The Hurns Brewing Company Limited, based in Swansea, Wales, owns several pubs across the country. It is best known for buying the Tomos Watkin beer range in 2002 and selling it to new owners in 2023.
The company began in the late 1800s as the Hurns Mineral Water Company, founded by Arthur A. Hurn. Its original premises were on Northampton Lane in Swansea, where it produced bottled soda water, ginger beer, lemonade, and cordials.
After Arthur’s son Idris died in 1966, and Idris’s son—who had been running the business—died unexpectedly a month later, the company declined for a decade. In 1976, Idris’s granddaughter Connie and her brother took over, shifting the company’s focus to distribution and wholesale. In 2010, Connie Parry, then CEO of Hurns, won the Welsh Business Woman of the Year award at the Welsh Women Mean Business Awards.
The Tomos Watkin brand was launched in 1995 by Simon Buckley, starting with a small brewery in Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, before moving to a larger brewery in Swansea. After Hurns sold the range in 2023, Tomos Watkin came under the ownership of Drop Bear Beer Co., and all its beers are now produced and packaged at the Drop Bear Brewery in Llansamlet, Swansea.
Quick Facts
- Founded
- late 1800s
- Founder
- Arthur A. Hurn
- Original name
- Hurns Mineral Water Company
- Location
- Swansea, Wales
- Award
- Welsh business woman of the year (2010)
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Hurns Brewing Company was originally established as the Hurns Mineral Water Company by Arthur A. Hurn in the late 1800s. Its premises were in Northampton Lane in Swansea, and it initially produced bottled soda water, ginger beer, lemonade and cordials. Arthur Hurn's son, Idris, died in 1966, and Idris's son, who had been running the business, unexpectedly died a month later.
The company went into decline for the next ten years until Idris's granddaughter Connie and her brother were old enough to take over in 1976. The company then changed direction to concentrate on distribution and wholesale. In 2010, as CEO of Hurns, Connie Parry was awarded the Welsh business woman of the year award at the Welsh Women Mean Business Awards ceremony.
The Hurns Brewing Company acquired the Tomos Watkin brewery in 2002. The present incarnation of Tomos Watkin had been started in 1995 by Simon Buckley, first operating from a small brewery in Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire and later opening a larger brewery in Swansea. Hurns sold the Tomos Watkin range of beers to new owners in 2023.
Reader's Guide
The Hurns Brewing Company's significance lies in its long history as a family-run Welsh drinks business that evolved from a mineral water producer into a brewery and pub owner. Its acquisition of the Tomos Watkin brand in 2002 brought a well-known Welsh ale range under its control for over two decades. The company's resilience is demonstrated by its recovery after the deaths of two generations of the Hurn family in 1966, followed by a decade of decline before Connie Parry and her brother took over in 1976 and shifted the business toward distribution and wholesale.
Connie Parry's recognition as Welsh business woman of the year in 2010 highlights the company's successful turnaround and leadership. The eventual sale of the Tomos Watkin range in 2023 marked the end of an era for Hurns as a brewer of that brand, though the company continues to own pubs in Wales. The legacy of Hurns is tied to its role in maintaining and later transferring a notable Welsh beer brand, as well as its own century-plus history in Swansea.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Hurns Brewing Company (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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