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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Whitbread
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One of Britain's largest brewers and owners of *pubs, which has expanded into off-licences, restaurants and hotels. Samuel Whitbread (1720–96) established his first brewery in London in 1742, and rapidly made a success by undercutting his rivals with a beer known as porter – short for 'porter's ale', because market porters were the chief customers for a product which was strong, black, cloudy and cheap. The company was a pioneer of commercial sponsorship with the Whitbread Gold Cup at *Sandown Park, and in 1971 it launched the prize now known as the Whitbread Book of the Year. Since 1973 it has sponsored the Whitbread Round The World Race.
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