F S Stowells Ltd, Ealing , wine and spirits merchants Stowell and Sons , wine and spirits merchants Stowells of Chelsea , wine and spirits merchants Stowells Taste of the World , wine and spirits merchants

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F S Stowells Ltd, Ealing , wine and spirits merchants Stowell and Sons , wine and spirits merchants Stowells of Chelsea , wine and spirits merchants Stowells Taste of the World , wine and spirits merchants

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        Stowell and Sons was a wines and spirits merchant bought by Whitbread and Company in 1920 for £20,000. The Company had been selling wine since 1878 when the first Stowells wine shop was opened in Ealing by Frederick Stanley Stowell. Moved to Britten Street, Chelsea (previously the Red Anchor Brewery) in 1927.

        Although Whitbread's tied houses were not obliged to buy from Stowells the Company prospered selling in 1934 9,000 barrels of beer, 52,000 gallons of wine and 38,000 gallons of spirits.

        Acquired or associated with: Findlater, Mackie and Company Limited; Spain and Albury Limited; E Robins and Sons Limited; The West End Wine Company Limited and Ellis, Wilson and Bacon Limited.

        In 1965 the retail branches of both Stowells and Thresher's came under the management of Thresher, the Head Office being established at Britten Street, Chelsea. In 1968 the firm was renamed Stowells of Chelsea Limited and began concentrating solely on wholesale supplies to the free trade and to all Whitbread outlets. In 1978 the company was re-organised and given a national identity in response to the growing demand and the increasingly important role of wines and spirits in Whitbread's turnover.

        In 1977 the Head Office moved with Thresher's to Great North Road, Hatfield, Hertfordshire and in 1982 to Sefton House, Church Road, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire.

        The formalisation of the Whitbread organisation into six divisions saw Stowells of Chelsea incorporated into the Wines and Spirits division. They were later merged in 1989, along with the other Whitbread investments of Langenbach and Calvert, with Allied-Lyon's wine subsidiary Grants of James to form a joint venture known as European Cellars.

        In 2003 the company changed their name from Stowells of Chelsea to Stowells Taste of the World.

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