Wells, Charles

People > Wells, Charles

Charles Wells was born in Bedford on the 16th August 1842. He was the second son of George Wells who lived at Fenlake Barns and was the owner of a furnishing business in the High Street. Charles was educated at Bedford Modern School and at the age of 14 he went to sea where he served with a shipping company called Wigrams. He served on one of the vessels which took troops out to India during the Mutiny and also saw something of the gold rush in Australia but he was not tempted to join the prospectors and rose to the rank of captain and he was then offered the command of the first steamship built by the company.

While on leave in the early 1870s he met and fell in love with Miss Josephine Grimbley daughter of daughter of Dr. Grimbley of Oxfordshire. Her father although in favour of the match said that Charles must leave the sea and find a new and less dangerous career. They married in 1872 and had five sons and three daughters, Charles Ernest, George Hayward, Harry Britten, Sydney Richard, Guy Franey, Mabel, Alice and Edith. The four eldest sons became directors of Charles Wells Brewery with the strict condition that they must live in the town.

 In 1876 he purchased an old established brewery in Horne Lane and a coal business. He decided to sell the coal business and concentrate on brewing. In 1910 the business was registered as a private limited company, valued at 150,00 and owning 140 pubs.

He always retained a passion for sailing and was a member of the Royal Portsmouth Corinthian Yachting Club keeping a yacht at Gosport while on the Ouse he sailed a small craft called The Moorhen. For many years he was a member of the Bedford Regatta Committee.

He served on The Bedfordshire County Council from 1892 to 1907 to and served on the Bedford Borough Council from 1903-1909. He was also a director of The Bedford Gas Light Company, and was served on the Management Committee of Bedford County Hospital. He was a member of the Council of Bedford General Library. Charles Well died on the 1st April 1914 at his residence Newnham House.

Sources

• Newspaper Cuttings Collection, Local Studies Library, Bedford Central Library

Charles Wells by Bedfordshire Libraries, 2011

Page last updated: 22nd January 2014