Hugh Tennent
Encyclopedia
Hugh Tennent was a Scottish brewer
, the great-great-grandson of the founder (also Hugh Tennent) of the Tennent's brewery. He began production of Tennent's lager
in 1885, having acquired his brother's share of the business a year earlier.
the second son of Charles Stewart Parker Tennent and Arabella Jane Campbell Tennent. His great-great-grandfather, also Hugh Tennent, founded the Tennent’s Wellpark Brewery
, Glasgow in the 1760s. Hugh had one older brother, Archibald Hay Tennent, who was three years his senior.
Hugh’s father and grandfather both died in 1864 when he was only a year old. For the next twenty years the firm was successfully run by trustees. During this time the business was built to a value of more than £300,000. The brewery was greatly extended, the plant was modernized and the products promoted internationally.
His 21st birthday was celebrated by a banquet in Glasgow City Hall and upon taking control of his father’s business he gave gifts of money to all his employees, numbering at that time between five and six hundred.
Hugh Tennent took a close interest in the German industry and its rapid expansion into export markets. In 1881, while still in a senior management position, he travelled on the first of many visits to Bavaria. He was accompanied by Wyllie Clarke, who later became managing director. During the trip they familiarised themselves with lager brewing.
Inspired by the Bavarian lagers Hugh Tennent first brewed Tennent's lager in 1885. The transition to lager production was made easier due to the fact that key parts of the brewing processes in Scotland and Bavaria were similar for example low-temperature fermentation. He later built a new lager brewery on the Wellpark site, which was begun in 1889 and completed in 1891. At the time the enterprise earned the contempt of a local newspaper who hailed it as a ‘madman’s dream’. The lager brewery was set up by engineers with the firm L.A. Reidinger of Augsburg, which had previously set up plants in locations as far apart as Tiflis, Yoklahoma, Cuba and Buenos Aires.
Above his share of the firm, his personal estate was worth at least a quarter of a million pounds. A second Tennent trust was set up to run the business, but Hugh Tennent was the last member of the family in direct control of Tennent’s.
Brewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
, the great-great-grandson of the founder (also Hugh Tennent) of the Tennent's brewery. He began production of Tennent's lager
Lager
Lager is a type of beer made from malted barley that is brewed and stored at low temperatures. There are many types of lager; pale lager is the most widely-consumed and commercially available style of beer in the world; Pilsner, Bock, Dortmunder Export and Märzen are all styles of lager...
in 1885, having acquired his brother's share of the business a year earlier.
Early life
Tennent was born in GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
the second son of Charles Stewart Parker Tennent and Arabella Jane Campbell Tennent. His great-great-grandfather, also Hugh Tennent, founded the Tennent’s Wellpark Brewery
Wellpark Brewery
Wellpark Brewery is a brewery situated in Duke Street in the East End of Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded in 1740 on the bank of the Molendinar Burn by Hugh and Robert Tennent...
, Glasgow in the 1760s. Hugh had one older brother, Archibald Hay Tennent, who was three years his senior.
Hugh’s father and grandfather both died in 1864 when he was only a year old. For the next twenty years the firm was successfully run by trustees. During this time the business was built to a value of more than £300,000. The brewery was greatly extended, the plant was modernized and the products promoted internationally.
Career
In his late teens Hugh took on a senior management role until in 1884, aged 21, he became sole partner of the firm and proprietor of the works.His 21st birthday was celebrated by a banquet in Glasgow City Hall and upon taking control of his father’s business he gave gifts of money to all his employees, numbering at that time between five and six hundred.
Hugh Tennent took a close interest in the German industry and its rapid expansion into export markets. In 1881, while still in a senior management position, he travelled on the first of many visits to Bavaria. He was accompanied by Wyllie Clarke, who later became managing director. During the trip they familiarised themselves with lager brewing.
Inspired by the Bavarian lagers Hugh Tennent first brewed Tennent's lager in 1885. The transition to lager production was made easier due to the fact that key parts of the brewing processes in Scotland and Bavaria were similar for example low-temperature fermentation. He later built a new lager brewery on the Wellpark site, which was begun in 1889 and completed in 1891. At the time the enterprise earned the contempt of a local newspaper who hailed it as a ‘madman’s dream’. The lager brewery was set up by engineers with the firm L.A. Reidinger of Augsburg, which had previously set up plants in locations as far apart as Tiflis, Yoklahoma, Cuba and Buenos Aires.
Death
Hugh Tennent died, unmarried and childless, in 1890 at age twenty-seven.Above his share of the firm, his personal estate was worth at least a quarter of a million pounds. A second Tennent trust was set up to run the business, but Hugh Tennent was the last member of the family in direct control of Tennent’s.
External links
Sources
- Records of Tennent Caledonian Breweries Ltd.
- The Bailie magazine (October 29, 1884)
- The National Guardian newspaper (November 6, 1884)
- National registers of births, marriages and deaths.
- 'Tennent, Hugh in Alcohol and Temperance in Modern History: An International Encyclopedia'. Editors: Jack Blocker; David Fahey; Ian Tyrrell
- 'The Brewing industry: a guide to historical records' (Richmond, Turton 1990)
- Memoirs and portraits of one hundred Glasgow men: Hugh Tennent.
- 100 Years of lager brewing in Scotland By D.I.H. Johnstone.