Humphrey Smith, the reclusive owner of Samuel Smith's brewery whose strict house rules allegedly led to the closure of a Hale pub, has died at the age of 81.
Smith, who had run the Tadcaster-based Old Brewery since the 1980s, oversaw a chain of around 200 pubs across the UK – including two in the Altrincham area that became notorious locally for his uncompromising approach to how customers should behave.
The Cheshire Midland in Hale has stood empty since 2019, when it's understood brewery representatives carried out an unannounced visit and found customers swearing and using their mobile phones – both banned under company policy. Stock and flower baskets were reportedly removed from the pub within days, and it has never reopened.
At the time, one regular told the Metro the ban on phones had rarely been strictly enforced, and called the closure "ridiculous", arguing the brewery was treating "paying customers like children rather than adults".
Samuel Smith's never gave an official reason for the closure, in keeping with the brewery's longstanding reluctance to explain its decisions publicly.
The company's other Altrincham-area outlet, the Malt Shovels on Stamford Street, remains open and continues to operate under the same rules that made Smith's pubs distinctive nationally – no music, no TVs, no swearing, and phones only permitted outside.
News of Smith's death was confirmed today by Tadcaster's mayor, Richard Sweeting, who said the businessman had been unwell for some time but had kept it private, adding that the town was now "in mourning" and that its brewery flag had been lowered to half-mast in his honour.
Sweeting said Smith was widely respected in his home town despite his reputation elsewhere, calling him a "true gentleman" and a "man of principle" who had quietly supported local amenities.
Samuel Smith's has yet to comment publicly on Smith's death.
