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Trust Houses Ltd was a British hospitality company with temperance origins dating back to 1900. It maintained a distinctive ethos for much of the 20th century. In 1970, at which point it was operating almost 200 hotels, it merged with Forte Holdings Ltd to form Trust House Forte (THF), later the Forte Group.

Company origins

In 1900, Albert Grey, the fourth Earl Grey, proposed a plan to establish a system of what were termed ‘public house trust companies’ for London and the provinces. These companies would acquire licensed premises and manage them as trusts in the interests of the community, rather than private profit. In this Grey was influenced by temperance proposals published in 1894 by Francis Jayne, Bishop of Chester, who had studied the Swedish Gothenburg system. The managers of trust-run licensed premises would be paid a fixed salary with a bonus for good management, but no commission on the sale of alcohol. The public-houses would be refreshment houses, and not merely drinking bars. Overall promotion of the scheme was carried out by an umbrella organisation chaired by Grey, the Central Public House Trust Association, which remained in being up until at least 1937.[1] His initiative coincided with the start of motor tourism, and as well as reducing alcohol consumption, the system promised to give new life to the many country inns and hotels that had languished since the end of the coaching era. Lord Grey looked to the gentry and philanthropists across the country to back the initiative in their local areas.[2][3]

Early public house trusts

Between 1900 and the outbreak of WWI, public house trust companies were mooted or formed for areas including the following:

  • 1901: Derbyshire,[4] Northumberland,[5] London metropolitan area,[2] Ulster,[6] Kent,[7] Sussex,[8] Surrey[9]
  • 1902: Durham,[10] Glasgow,[10] Hampshire,[10] North Yorkshire,[10] Renfrewshire,[10] Somerset[11] (later named the Western Counties Public House Trust)[12]
  • late 1902/early 1903: Devon,[13] Glamorgan,[14] Lancashire,[10] Liverpool & District
  • 1903: Hertfordshire,[15] Gloucestershire[16]
  • 1906: Hertfordshire and Essex companies merge,[17] becoming by 1910 the Home Counties Public House Trust[18]

After WWI

By the end of World War I, the company was operating some 100 hotels around England and Wales, well known for their cleanliness, service, and good food.[3] A new unified branding, Trust Houses Ltd, was adopted in December 1918.[19] Expansion northward continued, and in July 1919 Trust Houses Ltd acquired the eight hotels of the East of Scotland Trust Ltd.[20] In 1920 they secured the catering rights at the newly formed Croydon Aerodrome.[21] Although established in Scotland and northern England, in the interwar period Trust Houses Ltd properties were mostly found in the southern half of England. A 1927 guide to some of their more picturesque and historic properties listed nothing further north than Nottingham.[22] They reached a peak of 222 hotels just before World War II.[23]

WWII and after

During World War II nearly all Trust Houses' holdings were requisitioned for military use, and a certain number of these were never returned. After the war, the company expanded into other forms of hospitality, absorbing the Little Chef chain of roadside restaurants.[23]

At the time of the merger with Forte Holdings Ltd in 1970, the company owned and operated almost 200 hotels throughout the United Kingdom and overseas including the Grosvenor House, Hyde Park, Brown's, and Cavendish hotels. It provided other catering services, including industrial catering and 44 Little Chef restaurants.[24]

References

  1. ^ Annual report in West Sussex Gazette, Thursday 19 August 1937
  2. ^ a b The Star, Tuesday 04 December 1900
  3. ^ a b "History of TRUSTHOUSE FORTE PLC – FundingUniverse". www.fundinguniverse.com.
  4. ^ The Halesworth Times and East Suffolk Advertiser, Tuesday 26 November 1901
  5. ^ Burnley Express Saturday 15 March 1902
  6. ^ Londonderry Sentinel, Thursday 06 June 1901
  7. ^ Sussex Agricultural Express, Saturday 17 August 1901
  8. ^ Bexhill-on-Sea Observer, Saturday 31 August 1901
  9. ^ Surrey Comet, Saturday 30 November 1901
  10. ^ a b c d e f Burnley Express, Saturday 15 March 1902
  11. ^ West Somerset Free Press, Saturday 09 August 1902
  12. ^ Western Gazette, Friday 07 January 1916
  13. ^ Exeter and Plymouth Gazette, Thursday 30 October 1902
  14. ^ Cambria Daily Leader, Wednesday 30 July 1902
  15. ^ "Trust Houses". Graces Guide. 1965-03-26. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
  16. ^ Gloucestershire Chronicle, Saturday 07 March 1903
  17. ^ Essex Newsman, Saturday 22 September 1906
  18. ^ Bucks Herald, Saturday 14 May 1910
  19. ^ Sheffield Independent, Tuesday 10 December 1918
  20. ^ Pall Mall Gazette, Saturday 26 July 1919
  21. ^ Globe, 27 March 1920
  22. ^ Tales of Old Inns, Trust Houses Ltd, 1927
  23. ^ a b "History of TRUSTHOUSE FORTE PLC – FundingUniverse".
  24. ^ "Trust Houses - Graces Guide". www.gracesguide.co.uk.
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