| Administrative History | John Sumner & Co Ltd traded as brewers and wine and spirit merchants during the first half of the twentieth century in Wigan and the surrounding area. The company ran around sixty licensed houses and enjoyed valuable trading links with workers' associations.
John Sumner & Co Ltd was established in 1917, Harold Sumner and Geoffrey Musgrave Peck buying John Sumner & Co from E.A & D.M Rawcliffe. As part of the buy-out, the lease of Haigh Brewery, premises of John Sumner & Co since 1900, was transferred to the new company alongside the lease a number of licensed premises. Premises were also leased directly from the Rawcliffes. In 1918, the Memorandum and Articles of Association of John Sumner & Co Ltd were registered and General Meetings of Shareholders began. 1931 saw the beginning of moves by Greenall Whitley & Co Ltd to take over the company. A majority of shares was acquired by the directors of Greenall Whitleys, who came to dominate the management of the company. John Sumner & Co Ltd continued trading until 1955 when it went into voluntary receivership. |