Tetley’s Brewery was founded in Leeds in 1822 by Joshua Tetley, who came from a family of brewers. Joshua Tetley made his son, Francis William Tetley, a partner in the business in 1839, creating Joshua Tetley & Son. By this time the brewery was turning a profit of almost £3,000 a year. By 1860 it was the largest brewery in the north of England, with pale ale, which was gaining in popularity, making up an increasing percentage of production. The company bought its first two public houses in 1890, one of which, The Fleece in Farsley, Leeds, remains today. In July 1897 the company became a public limited company.

The company’s art deco headquarters was erected in 1931 and Tetley went from strength to strength, acquiring competitors in friendly takeovers to increase its estate and profits. In 1960 Tetley merged with Walkers of Warrington to form Tetley Walker and the following year Tetley became part of Allied Breweries, then the world’s largest brewing conglomerate. During the 1970s Tetley's was Britain's largest cask ale brewery, producing 1 million barrels a year. In 1978 Allied merged with J. Lyons to form Allied Lyons.

In 1993 Allied Lyons sold a 50 per cent stake in the company to Carlsberg and Tetley’s was fully taken over by Carlsberg in 1998. Carlsberg announced it would be closing Tetley’s brewing in 2008 and the final brew on Tetley’s premises took place on 22 February 2011. Today, the Tetley’s brewhouse site is a centre for contemporary art and learning, as well as home to the brewery’s archive.