It all began in the year before the Battle of Trafalgar whilst England was fighting the Napoleonic Wars.  At that time Ramsgate was the port from which troops and stores sailed to the Continent. The Duke of Wellington (then Sir Arthur Wellesley) stayed with his Headquarters staff at the London Hotel in Ramsgate, which was owned by Robert Page and his younger brother Richard. At that time, there was a threat of invasion by Napoleon and among those caught up in the invasion scare was a grocer named Fisher. He offered his shop on the corner of Harbour Street and Market Place for sale and hastily left the town. The Iron Duke had taken a liking to young Richard, then just 24, and advised him to buy the empty grocer’s shop. Richard took his advice and invested his life savings in the new venture in 1804, establishing a business which has been passed on from father to son for seven generations.

We’re lucky to have a variety of photos and memorabilia from over the years, giving insights into how the company has developed over the generations of Pages.

This newspaper advert from 1850 shows a time when Port and Sherry were key to the Page & Sons business, especially the Page’s own blend, bottled in the cellars under the Ramsgate shop.

From the spirit list you can see Hollands which is Jenever, the juniper flavoured liquor of the Netherlands and Belgium, from which gin evolved.

The photo above from 1890 shows the new shop in Queen Street bought to cater for Page & Sons growing business. On the left hand side you can see Page & Sons motorised van, the first in Ramsgate at that time.

Between the wars the business was guided by Stanley Hatch Page. During a period of two World Wars and the Great Depression the business continued to grow and developed its wine imports.

Page & Sons became a household name in Thanet and supported many community activities. The photo above shows old father Page ready to hand out the post-match drinks.

In 1940 the business began to specialise in drinks and developed into the wine, beer and spirit merchants that it is today.

In 2000 Page & Sons became members of The Society of Vintners, (a voluntary buying group with 30 members covering the whole of the UK.) This allowed us to buy direct from producers all over the world, and supply wines which are exclusive to our Group. giving our customers access to some amazing wines.

We’re lucky to remain a successful family business in East Kent, with our warehouses based in Hopes Lane, Ramsgate. We have a  fleet of 6 vans (an improvement on the motorised vehicle of 1890) serving the Isle of Thanet and the Kent area.

As a local family business that has had many customers over the decades we’re lucky enough to be handed lovely little pieces of history. These Page & Sons demi-johns from yesteryear, are from a time when we used to bottle our own wines and sherries in the old cellars in Queen Street Ramsgate.

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