Our Story

(We interviewed Ann Swinnerton, granddaughter of Mr Oscar Swinnerton who was able to give us a fascinating insight into the history of the company and name).

Mr Oscar Swinnerton hailing from Birmingham and his business partner Mr Joseph Stange hailing from Texas, USA, began their entrepreneurial journey by purchasing a brewery for £300. The profits from which funded their travels to Llandudno, where they showcased and sold their goods. This success led to the opening of a shop at the turn of the 20th century and so, Stange & Co. fruiterers and florists was born. The shop became well-known for supplying produce to wealthy commuters, who lived in the newly created seaside towns along the North Welsh coast, avoiding the pollution of the industrial towns of the North West, like Manchester and Liverpool. At the same time tourism was becoming established for the masses, with workers travelling from those same industrial towns, on day trips or a spending a few days at the coast in lodging houses, 'whisked' there by the relatively new North Welsh Main Line, that had opened in 1850, in turn opening up North Wales to the booming North West of England.

Oscar Swinnerton lived just round the corner from the shop in Winsor House on Gloddaeth Street and was known for heading to work each day with a fresh carnation in his pocket, proudly wearing the very goods he sold. While less is known about the "Stange" side of the partnership, family lore suggests that Mr Stange travelled to America and returned with the UK’s very first popcorn machine. The Swinnerton family even have a medal from the International Exhibition in Glasgow, which they believe may have been awarded for this entrepreneurial milestone.

During the war Mr Stange was a conductor of an orchestra and went over to the US. It’s believed that while Mr Swinnerton remained the hands-on presence back home, managing operations on the ground, Mr Stange took on the role of the ideas man, from overseas.

Mr. Swinnerton passed away around 1934, and the business was inherited by his son , a dentist in the town, and had little interest in running the shops. The shops were sold to William Rowlands, something of a 'management buyout', with William having worked in the business for a number of years, this marking the beginning of Stange & Co. in the Rowlands family.

Their father, Isaiah, had arrived in Llandudno years earlier from Llangollen, working as a general labourer and lodging with a local family. It was in Llandudno that he met and married Jane, and together they had nine children, William being their sixth.

William, often called Willie, went on to marry Eva Emma Taylor Mould, who had moved to Llandudno from West Ham in London. Together they had five children: John, William, Mary, James, and Ivor. William, known as Bill and James (Jimmy). The latter two taking on the company from their father and growing the family business of fruiterer and florists. They expanded into various forms of retail over the decades including a tobacconists, sweet shops and even a barber’s and hairdressers above and below the tobacconists on Mostyn Street.

(PHOTO: Stange & Co. @ 107 Mostyn Street, LLandudno. William Isaiah Rowlands and younger brother Robin along with shop assistant Clifford Townley. / c.1960 Stange & Co. on Mostyn St. nr. Woolworths)

It was a bumpy start……with lack of funds and experience, money was hard to come by and in the late 70s and early 80s an interest rate of 15% was not uncommon, so with a bit of help from the brewery the pub was built and opened in September of 1981. The folks of Llandudno seemed to agree with Bill on what made a good pub and they came in their droves, for their famous lunches and the best cask beer around. It was a steep learning curve, but Bill soon got the hang of it and started adding the odd pub here and there, and pulled together the beginnings of a pub group.

(Photos: The Cottage Loaf c.1981 - Bill & Fay Rowlands / MD Dan McLennan @ aged 3 months ringing the first bell on opening day 27th September 1981 / Willy Hobson, the first landlord pulling the first ever pint).

In the meantime Bill’s grandchildren Dan and Zoe had been earning their beer tokens at the pubs on the Wirral whilst doing A-levels and at university and probably spending most of their wages on the other side of the bar! But something must have sparked a lasting interest, because after time away at university and exploring the wider world, both eventually found their way back to the family business. Today, Stange & Co. is proudly in the hands of the fourth generation and the company is going from strength to strength.

Since the turn of the century, the journey to revitalise each of the pubs has been both challenging and rewarding. Through a great deal of time, care, and investment, we’ve built a collection of pubs that reflect our values: quality, freshness, and warm, genuine service. At the heart of it all is a simple aim, to create the kind of pub we’d love to have on our own doorstep: a true local, serving a cracking pint and hearty, delicious food.

Looking ahead, we’re committed to continuing to invest in our existing pubs, while always keeping an open mind for new opportunities to grow the Stange & Co. family.

(Photo: Zoe, Dan and Bill @ the Cottage Loaf 2015 / Dan & Zoe @ the office 2024)