Humphrey Smith: Flag at half-mast over Britain’s most unusual and secretive brewing business
The half-mast union flag on the roof of The Old Brewery was the only sign at the famously secretive Samuel Smith organisation of the death of its reclusive owner.
It was fluttering next to the 140ft (43m) chimney, which towers over the centre of Tadcaster, just a couple of hundred metres from its slightly taller twin at the rival John Smith’s brewery.
While Heineken-owned John Smith’s has long since been swallowed by the international corporate brewing industry, Eton-educated Humphrey Smith spent the last 60 years making sure Sam Smith’s became a byword for family-owned traditional beer-making rooted in a vision of pub-going from the 1950s.
Nobody blinked an eye on the nearby Tadcaster High Street on Wednesday when one of the brewery’s horses, which are still used for local deliveries, emerged for a walk over the town’s bridge, which had to be rebuilt after it collapsed in the 2015 winter storms.
As the beautifully-groomed grey was led along the main thoroughfare of the North Yorkshire town, its route highlighted the controversies surrounding Mr Smith’s unusual business empire.
It sauntered right past the The Angel and White Horse, which is next to the company HQ but, like many of the firm’s more than 200 pubs, is closed with an advert in the windows asking if anybody wants to take it on.
Mystery surrounds why so many are shut, especially as Smith was known for acquiring architecturally significant and historic buildings.
Commentators have pointed to the difficulties faced by potential managers implementing his strict demands around noise, music, children, mobile phones and laptops, as well as reports of his reaction to licensees he judges to have infringed his rules.
The firm’s website states: “Our pubs are havens from the digital world – there are no TVs or background music. The use of mobile phones, laptops and other tech is not allowed in our pubs. Friendly pub conversation is encouraged (no swearing!) together with the responsible enjoyment of our beers.”
There are many reports of Smith turning up personally to admonish customers and landlords, including an incident at a pub in Sheffield in 2020 when a couple said they were sacked after they failed to produce his favourite dessert.
In 2011, protesters staged a “kiss-in” when a Sam Smith’s pub in Soho, central London, allegedly booted out two men for a public display of affection.
But few people in Tadcaster town centre wanted to share such stories.
Smith himself never spoke to the media and his firm followed suit. The firm owns a large chunk of the town.
His desire for privacy – especially around his fortune and business dealings – meant that Samuel Smith’s is one of very few British businesses to not file public financial accounts.
Smith made the firm a private unlimited company in 1982, which means it is exempt from publishing its accounts or revealing its assets, but it also means that all its owners are personally liable for its debts.
A newspaper article in 2024 said he “has a strong claim to being Britain’s strangest businessman”.
But others have said a focus on Smith’s business and moral eccentricities detracts from what he did to promote independent brewing and the traditional pub experience.
The firm’s website proudly states how its pubs only stock Sam Smith’s beer and cider, and other products are locally sourced.
One post on a real ale lovers’ page said Smith was “an absolute titan of the British brewing world”.
It said: “Love him or hate him for his strict rules banning smartphones, tablets, music, and even swearing, he ran his pubs entirely his own way to preserve the classic, tech-free British pubs experience.
“Whether you cherished the peace or found the rules baffling, there is no denying his massive impact on our pub heritage.”
York Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) chairman Christopher Tregellis said: “It is difficult to differentiate between him as a man and the business itself. The two seem to have been closely aligned.
“The business had a reputation as being very traditional and sometimes arbitrary.
“They seemed prepared to keep large parts of their pub estate empty and unused and would often close pubs at very short notice, depriving local customers of community assets without them knowing why.
“Their pubs are known as purveyors of fairly priced beer and they have a commitment to cask ale which is obviously valued by Camra.
“The passing of Mr Smith presents the brewery with an opportunity to modernise its approach whilst preserving its good aspects, and we hope to see this happen.”