At its peak in the 1930s it was a constituent of the FT 30 index of leading companies on the London Stock Exchange.

[1] The Watney family were the main partners in the Stag Brewery, Victoria, for much of the 19th century.

[7] The business acquired other brewers, including Wilsons of Manchester, Phipps NBC of Northampton, Samuel Webster & Sons of Halifax and Ushers of Trowbridge, before being taken over by Grand Metropolitan, a hotels and catering group, in 1972 and closed in 1979.

[8] Watney's Red Barrel was a bitter which sold highly in the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s.

[10] A 3.9% abv pale lager called Watney's Red Barrel was sold by Sleeman Breweries until 1997[11] and a 6.0% beer with the same name is still brewed by Alken-Maes.