Crawford's is a brand of biscuits.
It started as a Scottish baker of ship's biscuits in a public house on The Shore, Leith in 1813. The bakery was acquired by Robert Mathie in 1817 and then William Crawford in 1856, when Mathie retired. William Crawford & Sons established large factories in Leith and Liverpool so that, at its peak, it was one of Britain's largest biscuit manufacturers and claimed to be its oldest. The company was acquired by United Biscuits in 1960 and is now a brand within their portfolio.
History
In 1856, William Crawford (1818–1889) bought an established bakery at 31 The Shore, Leith from Robert Mathie (1789–1863). The bakery specialised in ships' biscuits and had been established in 1813,[1] with Mathie taking it over in 1817.[2]
Crawford wished to expand the business and set up a retail outlet at 14 Leith Street (which links Leith Walk to Princes Street) in 1861, relocating to the exclusive address of 2 Princes Street in 1866. In 1879 they built a large purpose built factory on Elbe Street in Leith.[3] The Elbe Street factory was served by its own railway siding. A second factory premises was built in Leith on Anderson Place in 1947 (it is now in use as a creative hub).[4][5]
Products
In 1923, the company advertised several biscuit varieties which commemorated royalty and its marriages:
Their range then included a variety of popular biscuits including shortbread, cream crackers, digestives and ginger nuts.
The brand now includes:
- York – the marriage of the Duke of York to Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
- Wedding Bells – the marriage of Princess Mary to Viscount Lascelles
- Marie – the marriage of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia to the Duke of Edinburgh
- Royal George
- Bourbon creams
- Cream crackers
- Custard creams
- Digestives
- Garibaldi biscuits
Packaging
Historically, some of Crawford's biscuits were sold in decorative biscuit tins.[19] In 2007, a Crawford biscuit tin was sold for £15,600 at Bonhams in the form of a sports car and was reported to be the most expensive tin sold until that date.[19]
External links
- Crawfords Biscuits at Brighton Toy Museum, with images of biscuit tins, model Crawford's Biscuits railway wagons, etc.
References
- Crawford's Biscuits Grace's Guide, retrieved 24 June 2022^
- Crawfords biscuits history Let's Look Again, retrieved 2022-03-28^
- Edinburgh Post Officer Directories 1866, 1879^