Arthur Guinness Leases the St. James’s Gate Brewery

On December 31, 1759, Arthur Guinness leased a disused brewery at St. James’s Gate in Dublin. The agreement covered a four-acre site and was made for 9,000 years at an annual rent of £45. Guinness had previously operated a brewery with his brother at Leixlip in County Kildare before moving his own brewing business to the Irish capital. Guinness initially brewed ale at St. James’s Gate and did not begin producing porter until the 1770s. The lease nevertheless established the brewery that would become closely associated with porter and stout, develop into one of the world’s largest brewing operations, and remain the historic center of Guinness production for more than two and a half centuries.