Berry Bros. & Rudd is Britain’s first wine and spirits trader with more than 300 years of history. Holder of two royal warrants, the business, which is still family-run, has been operating out of the same address, No. 3 St. James’s Street since 1698, serving the UK and various parts of Europe.
Today, the company offers product and knowledge and events and, has offices in Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, as well as a Wine School and an exclusive fine wine and dining venue in St James’s, London. To better serve their clients with the most comprehensive wine knowledge, Berry Bros. & Rudd has never been better positioned to provide its customers with their three Masters of Wine (or MWs), part of a select group of wine experts.
Berry Bros. & Rudd operate with a fundamental belief that everything you should look for in a wine or spirit boils down to one simple question: “Is it good to drink?”
It All Began with the Widow Bourne
The story of Berry Bros. & Rudd began in 1698, and was started by a woman. To this day, all that is known of her name, is her last name: Bourne. She was a widow and mother to at least two girls. The Widow Bourne’s business was a grocery store in the upscale neighbourhood next to St. James’s Palace, which at that time, had just been designated as the monarch’s formal permanent residence.
Next Generation Carries on
The Widow’s daughter Elizabeth married William Pickering (d.1734), and their family continued to run the business. Given that the Pickerings supplied the newly fashionable Coffee Houses of St James’s, it is not surprising that the shop chose an image associated with this prestige commodity as their logo. Berry Bros. & Rudd still trades under the ‘Sign of the Coffee Mill,’ an image that has remained outside the shop for centuries.
Historical Moment 1800s: In exile in London, Napoleon used No. 3’s cellars to hold secret meetings. Our Napoleon Cellar is named after him.
The Appeal of the Scale
The famous grocer’s weighing scales became a source of entertainment when it began to be used to weigh the shop’s many notable customers during the time of William Jr. and John Clarke, a fashionable pastime that continues to this day.
The Berry Era Begins and the Shift to Wine and an Extraordinary Business
George Berry, John Clarke’s grandson, was only 16 years old when he set out from Exeter in 1803. By 1810, his name was emblazoned on the front of No. 3 St James’s Street. Since then, the Berry name has been inextricably linked to the company. George became a successful merchant who specialised in wine. Wine would have always been sold at No. 3, but George’s family history, combined with changing tastes at the time, explain the shift to wines and spirits. In 1845, two of George Berry’s sons, George Jr. and Henry, took over. The shop still bears the name of the original “Berry Brothers” today. The Rudds joined the Berrys at a critical juncture in the early twentieth century.
The Children Join the Family Business
The Berry brothers’ roles were passed down to their children, cousins Henry Berry and Henry Percival Berry. These two branches of the family were the forefathers of the modern family, and until the last of Henry Berry’s descendants retired in 1941, a member from each branch ran the business as a partner.
Historical Moment: April 15, 1912 White Star Line issued a meticulously typed letter to “Berry Bros. & Co.” the day following the tragic Titanic catastrophe. According to the letter, 69 cases of the company’s wines and spirits that were aboard the ship were lost. The loss of lives were not mentioned at all.
Changing Times and Unprecedented Growth
Hugh Rudd came from a wine merchant family in Norwich founded by his grandfather in 1851. Prior to World War I, he worked for the family business and abroad, combining a deep knowledge of German wines with a great love of Bordeaux. When he returned from the war, Norwich had ceased to be an active wine trade centre, so he relocated to London. Hugh Rudd joined Berry Bros. in 1920, and his collaboration with the two Berrys provided the firm with unrivalled wine expertise.
Durign the 1940s, Berry Bros. & Co became a limited company, one of many name changes in the company’s history. Hugh Rudd was already an important part of the company, so it was only natural for the company to be known as Berry Bros. & Rudd Ltd., as it is today. During WWII, the ancient furniture from No. 3 was stored in the countryside at Walter Berry’s house to protect it from bombing. No. 3 escaped total destruction, but the top floors were damaged by fire. The building’s front was shaken by nearby impacts, but it survived largely due to the old wooden shutters that protected the shop front. These shutters, which still line the path to Pickering Place, were last used during the 2011 London riots.
As a result of the tragedies of World War II, Francis Berry’s younger son, Anthony, became a partner unexpectedly quickly from 1950 onwards, while Hugh Rudd’s widow, Ethel Rudd, took over as Non-Executive Chairman from 1949 until 1965, when Anthony Berry was appointed Chairman.
For hundreds of years we have welcomed guests to our historic home at No.3 St James’s Street, located in the heart of St James’s. Wine and food have long been integral to our business; in the past the Directors would gather for lunch every day to discuss matters arising. 20 years ago, we opened our cellars up to our customers, creating extraordinary, characterful spaces where we can bring people together through the pleasure of sharing the finest wines and spirits.”
Geordie D’Anyers Willis, Experiences Director and eighth-generation member of the Berry family
Family Business Goes from Strength to Strength
The family was almost unique among their contemporaries in not selling the business in the years following the war. This was the time when the first non-family Directors were appointed, setting a precedent that has continued to bring in valuable experts. Berry Bros. & Rudd solidified their position as world-renowned wine and spirits merchants in the second half of the twentieth century. The success in the 1920s with Cutty Sark Scotch whisky was also a recurring theme during this period, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s. Berry Bros. & Rudd remained famous for their Claret and Burgundy. They also maintained a client base of the same families who had visited the shop for generations, a tremendous testament to the strength and enduring appeal of their business.
At the Forefront with Growth; Mail Order Business Begins and Online
Berry Bros. & Rudd’s customer base grew dramatically since the war, with an increasing number of sales being made via mail order. Berry Bros. & Rudd was once again at the forefront of innovation when it launched the first wine merchant’s website, bbr.com, in 1994. Berry Bros. & Rudd expanded its physical presence as well as its electronic presence in the 1990s. Following the establishment of the company’s first presence in Asia, the Hong Kong Wine Club, a series of Duty Free wine shops opened at Heathrow Airport. The first overseas shop opened in Dublin’s Harry Street in 1998.
21st Century Expansion
The second half of the twentieth century was marked by the expansion of traditional business, and the twenty-first saw the establishment of new business lines. The building of their beautiful historic cellars beneath the shop and rooms in Pickering Place were gradually renovated to accommodate private wine events and the well-known Wine School. Berry Bros. & Rudd’s Asian business grew, with new websites and a physical presence in Japan and Hong Kong. Berry Bros. & Rudd was the first major UK retailer to give Chinese wines a permanent place on its shelves in 2013.
With two Royal Warrants, over 300 years of history, and three Masters of Wine they continue to flourish. While the company values progress, it also values tradition. Everyone is welcome at Widow Bourne’s shop near the Palace, whether you want a single bottle or a cellarful. Still run by Berry and Rudd family members and they continue to supply the British Royal Family, as they have done since King George III’s reign.
For more information visit https://www.bbr.com/
