Benjamin Greene (brewer)

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Not to be confused with Benjamin Buck Greene , his son.
Benjamin Greene
Born ( 1780-04-05 ) 5 April 1780
Oundle , Northamptonshire, England
Died 26 November 1860 (1860-11-26) (aged 80)
Bloomsbury , London, England
Occupation(s) Businessman, brewer, planter, newspaper owner
Known for Founder of, Greene King
Children 13

Benjamin Greene (5 April 1780 ? 26 November 1860) was an English businessman, newspaper owner and the founder of Greene King , one of the United Kingdom 's largest brewing businesses. [1] He later became the owner of multiple plantations in the British West Indies and supported slavery. [2]

Career [ edit ]

Benjamin Greene was born on 5 April 1780 in Oundle . He apprenticed at Whitbread , a British multinational hotel and restaurant company.

Greene initially founded a brewing business in 1801 with John Clark in Bury St Edmunds . [1] Then in 1806 he dissolved that partnership and established a new venture with William Buck at the Westgate Brewery. [1] It was this venture that became Greene King . [1]

On the death of Sir Patrick Blake, 2nd Baronet he became the executor and, on the subsequent death of Sir Patrick's widow, the owner of some estates in the West Indies . [1]

He was a supporter of the arts and in 1819 lent ￡5,000 to William Wilkins to build the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds . [3]

He acquired the Bury and Suffolk Herald in 1828 and as proprietor took an ultra-conservative position opposing both the Reform Bill and the Slavery Abolition Bill . [1] This position attracted much criticism and three libel actions. [1] He left Bury St Edmunds in 1836 and established with his son, Benjamin Greene & Son, West India merchants and shipowners, at 11 Mincing Lane, London. [1]

He made three claims under the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 and was awarded a total of ￡4,033 15s 7d compensation for the 231 slaves he had owned on his estates in Montserrat and St Kitts. [4] [5] [6] The Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slave-ownership at UCL describes him as an enthusiastic supporter of slavery, being particularly active between 1828 and 1833. [7] In June 2020 Greene King announced that it would be paying reparations to BAME charities in recognition that he and by extension the company had benefited from slavery. [8]

Grave of Benjamin Greene in Highgate Cemetery

He died at Russell Square in London on 26 November 1860 and is buried at Highgate Cemetery . [1]

Family [ edit ]

He was married twice: first in 1803 to Mary Maling and then in 1805 to Catherine Smith with whom he went on to have seven sons and six daughters [1] including:

References [ edit ]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Greene, Benjamin (1780?1860)" . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . 23 September 2004 . Retrieved 11 April 2023 .
  2. ^ Otele, Olivette; Kattah, Mawuena (31 March 2023). "More than money: the logic of slavery reparations" . the Guardian . Retrieved 11 April 2023 .
  3. ^ The Theatre Royal Archived July 15, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Details of Claim | Legacies of British Slave-ownership" . www.ucl.ac.uk . Retrieved 18 June 2020 .
  5. ^ "Details of Claim | Legacies of British Slave-ownership" . www.ucl.ac.uk . Retrieved 18 June 2020 .
  6. ^ "Details of Claim | Legacies of British Slave-ownership" . www.ucl.ac.uk . Retrieved 18 June 2020 .
  7. ^ "Summary of Individual | Legacies of British Slave-ownership" . www.ucl.ac.uk . Retrieved 18 June 2020 .
  8. ^ "Lloyd's of London and Greene King to make slave trade reparations" . The Guardian . 17 June 2020 . Retrieved 18 June 2020 .
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