Ringtons Tea & Coffee

The History of Ringtons

Ringtons was founded in 1907 by Samuel Smith, and it remains a family business: three of Sam’s great-grandsons are actively involved in running the company today, and are totally committed to Sam’s founding values of quality and service. The business is still built on the uniquely close relationships which the van salespeople have with their customers, many of which go back over several decades: Glyn Meredith recently retired after delivering to the same groups of houses and customers for 42 years.

The company began in 1907, when Samuel Smith moved from Leeds to Newcastle to set up his own tea delivery business. With an initial investment of £250 from a business partner, William Titterington, Sam began making door to door tea deliveries to customers using his instantly recognisable horse and carriage. The Ringtons name was formed from the last part of the name Titterington, with the ‘S’ for Smith – contrary to popular belief, there never was a ‘Mr. Rington’, and the name has no apostrophe.

A year later, two horses were in operation and Sam Smith had four loyal assistants to help cope with what was a rapidly expanding 

enterprise. By 1914, Samuel Smith had bought out William Titterington’s share of the business and Ringtons was growing into a true family business - Samuel’s son, Douglas, joined the company as a tea delivery boy.

The First World War had a huge impact on the company. Many of the employees were sent to fight for the country and rationing and sales laws were put into force. Samuel promised the servicemen their jobs would be waiting for them on their return and sure enough, all 12 surviving members of his former staff came back to their jobs.

In the early 1920s, Ringtons bought two motorised vehicles, although it seemed that most customers still preferred their tea delivered by the traditional horse and cart, and it wasn’t until 1962 that the last horse (Monty) finally retired.

Ringtons was again seriously affected by the Second World War. Over 400 Ringtons employees, including Samuel’s four grandsons, were called up to fight and by 1943, 200 vans were taken off the road. Once again, the business was kept going and the surviving servicemen, including his grandsons, returned to work for the company.

Samuel Smith passed away aged 77 in 1949 and his sons took on the business. This was only the beginning of Smith generations following in their parents’ footsteps.

After over 100 years, the famous Ringtons vans still continue their door to door deliveries all the way from Scotland down to Peterborough and from Lancashire across to East Anglia, a total of 28 sales offices serving 275,000 households. We blend all our own teas, and roast all our own coffees. We opened our new factory in 1992, but the head office remains next door to the original factory in Byker, which is a famous local landmark.  

Now in 2008, the fourth generation of the family, Nigel, Simon, and Colin Smith, run the business on a daily basis as it continues to flourish.

Archive Timeline

Take a journey through time with the Ringtons timeline - simply click on the date you are interested in:

(If the timeline does not load you may need to install a new version of Flash player, which can be downloaded here)