Posted 1 hour agoSubscribe to Screen Time NewsletterCaret Down17 Facts About The Real Arthur And Edward Guinness (And The Guinness Company) That You Probably Don't KnowThere actually was an original 9,000-year lease for St. James's Gate in Dublin, where the Guinness brewery is.by Nora DominickBuzzFeed StaffFacebookPinterestLink If you've been on Netflix recently, you've probably noticed House of Guinness, which is trending in the top 10 in the US. From Steven Knight, the creator of Peaky Blinders, comes another drama about a dysfunctional family. This time, Knight trades 1900s Birmingham for 19th-century Dublin to tell the story of the Guinness family, one of Europe's most famous and enduring dynasties. Ben Blackall / Netflix House of Guinness begins in the aftermath of Sir Benjamin Guinness's death. Credited with the success of the Guinness brewery, his death has a huge impact on his four adult children, Arthur (Anthony Boyle), Edward (Louis Partridge), Anne (Emily Fairn), and Benjamin (Fionn O'Shea), as well as the people who work and interact with the phenomenon that is Guinness. Netflix So, in case you're like me and want to know more about the real Guinness family that's depicted in House of Guinness (and what the show got right and wrong), here are 17 real-life facts: There are obviously spoilers ahead for House of Guinness Season 1! 1. First, while House of Guinness begins with the death of Sir Benjamin Guinness, the story of the family actually starts with Arthur Guinness in 1759, when he founded the brewery. Namely, he notably signed a 9,000-year lease for the then-disused brewery at St. James's Gate in Dublin for an annual rent of £45. According to Guinness, at the time the property comprised "four acres with a copper, a kieve, a mill, two malthouses, stabling for twelve horses, and a loft to hold 200 tons of hay." Hulton Deutsch / Corbis / Getty Images As of 2025, they are technically 266 years into their lease at St. James's Gate, where Guinness is still brewed; however, the property has expanded well beyond the original four acres to 50 acres. Since the company has now purchased the land outright, the original lease is no longer needed. You can go take a tour at the Guinness Storehouse, where you learn all about how Guinness is brewed and then shipped globally, as well as the history of the Guinness family. 2. Following Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness's death in 1868, aka when House of Guinness begins, his will stated that he left the brewery to Arthur and Edward, and they were instructed to carry on the Guinness brewery together. According to the book, Guinness: A Family Succession, per Town & Country, he specified that "if one brother wanted out or was declared bankrupt, then his share passed to the other." DEA / BIBLIOTECA AMBROSIANA / De Agostini / Getty Images In Guinness: A Family Succession, Benjamin's decision on how to leave the brewery to his children is described as "a manner that showed his particular intention to safeguard the interests of the brewery, almost as if it were a fifth child." 3. At the time, Benjamin's will was reported to be the biggest in Ireland, with his estate estimated at about £1.1 million at the time. In his will, he also allocated the properties to his various children. According to Guinness: A Family Succession, Benjamin left the family home at St. Anne's to Arthur. The Kerry, Limerick, and Kilkenny estates were inherited by Benjamin Lee, aka Lee. "No. 80," which was the home at 80 St. Stephen's Green, was left to Edward, alongside the property and mills in Kilmainham, which was west of St. James's Gate. Ben Blackall / Netflix While Arthur, Lee, and Edward got property and money, Anne was left no property but £30,000 to be allocated to investments that would "benefit her.""Although everyone knew Sir Benjamin Guinness was rich, it was only when he died that the full extent of his wealth became apparent," states author Arthur Edward Guinness in Guinness: A Family Succession.
Notably, St. Anne's Park in Dublin was once part of the Guinness family's estate. 4. Arthur Guinness and Lady Olivia Charlotte Hedges-White were married in 1871; however, they did not have any children. In The Guinnesses: The Untold Story of Ireland's Most Successful Family, it's speculated that Arthur was gay, which is depicted in House of Guinness. Author Joe Joyce writes that Arthur and Olivia were "arranged in advance as a marriage blanche, meaning there would be no sex, implying strongly that Sir Arthur was gay." Netflix Lady Olivia was the daughter of the 3rd Earl of Bantry. Her family notably held a seat with Bantry House in County Cork. 5. In 1868, Arthur Guinness was elected a Conservative Member of Parliament for Dublin. Ultimately, he only held the seat for a year, as his election was "void," according to transcripts from the UK parliament. He was accused of bankrolling people to bribe freemen, aka protestants who had inherited voting rights. Per the transcript, "Mr. Justice Keogh repor