The Story of…

Kendal Snuff

Saracens, Spaniards and tobacco - the story of Kendal's link to the snuff trade.

Tobacco in Kendal

If you go down Lowther Street in Kendal, and look up at the wall on your right, you will see perched on high a figure of a Saracen or Turk, smoking a long-stemmed pipe and holding a roll of tobacco.

What is he doing there, in this narrow street now filled with traffic and not very friendly to pedestrians?

To find out we have to look back to the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1st.

The Introduction of Tobacco

Sir Walter Raleigh began it all at the end of the 16th century, by bringing tobacco to England from America and smoking became a new habit.

Snuff was introduced a century later after Sir George Rooke captured a Spanish treasure fleet in 1702.

The Importance of Snuff in Coffee Houses

Amongst the goods on the ships captured by Sir George Rooke were thousands of kegs of the best quality snuff, which was quickly shared out amongst the English sailors and eventually found their way to the Coffee Houses in London.

Snuff was cheaper than pipe tobacco and was regarded as a cure-all for many ailments, including toothache, colds and even for warding off the dreaded plague.

But how did Kendal, far from the London coffee houses, come to be the major snuff manufacturing centre in Britain?

Snuff Transport

One of the chief reasons for Kendals link to snuff was that it was a route-centre, a staging post and an overnight stop for the hundreds of Pack Horse teams which were then the only means of transport. As many as 350 horses carried goods in and out of the town every week.

Whitehaven Harbour

On the west coast of Cumberland the ports of Whitehaven, Workington and Maryport were growing in importance during the 17th and 18th centuries, greater even than Liverpool and Bristol.

The Import of Tobacco from America

The import of raw tobacco from the Americas and the export of finished tobacco and snuff formed the major part of the trade through the coastal ports.

In 1739 - 40, four and a half million pounds of tobacco were imported through Whitehaven alone.

Travel Problems

From the coast, it was a hard day's journey by pack horse to Kendal, over the Hardknott and Wrynose passes, which are a challenge even today.

Kendals Snuff Trade Workforce

Kendal was also on the route from Glasgow, another snuff manufacturing centre.

Kendal had an available skilled workforce due to the decline in the woollen industry which had brought such prosperity in the past.

Snuff production from Watermills

The river Kent and its tributaries, the Mint and Sprint, provided a source of power for the many water mills along their banks.

Snuff had been manufactured in a small way for many years but, in 1790, a bold Kendal man called Thomas Harrison scraped together all his resources and set out for Glasgow to learn how to produce snuff on a larger mechanised scale. Glasgow was then the recognised centre of tobacco and snuff manufacture in the whole British Isles.

Original Snuff Machinery

In 1792 Thomas Harrison having learnt his trade well returned to Kendal bringing with him a complete dismantled snuff manufacturing plant. This was a heavy piece of machinery, made of oak and iron, which had to be dragged by horses on the rough unmade roads of the time to Mealbank.

Today this is a quiet little hamlet just two miles north of Kendal, but then there were water powered mills, worker's cottages and a complete little industrial centre.

The Famous Kendal Brown Snuff

Thomas Harrison not only brought machinery and the expertise to work it, he also brought with him a snuff recipe or formula which was to become the popular and best selling variety 'Kendal Brown', which is still manufactured today.

This old formula is kept locked away in a bank strong room in Kendal, its secret being known by heart to only one or two of the firm's most trusted staff.

The Process of Grinding Snuff

Snuff is made by grinding tobacco to a powder and adding various ingredients and essential oils such as camphor, menthol and spices to give the finished product a distinctive smell.

Mr Metcalfe Mixing the Snuff Blend

Scores of different types of snuff have been manufactured over the years, with attractive sounding names such as; 'Afterglow', 'Western Glory', (Winston Churchills's favourite) and 'Otterhound'.

Customs and Excise for Tobacco

Duty had to be paid on raw tobacco, and it was stored in the Bonded Warehouse on Beezon Road, built in 1875.

This was a large stone building, fire proof and safe from flooding, with a railway line running directly from the sidings across the road, into the building. Spirits, tea and wine were also stored here.

Lowther Street Manufactury

We still haven't found out why the Saracen is up on the wall on Lowther Street, but we are getting there!

Thomas Harrison's business took off and he bought a house in Highgate where he stored the snuff powder to mature before being flavoured, packed and sold.

His success was spotted by another business man and neighbour, Thomas Brocklebank, and they went into partnership. Thomas Harrison's son, also called Thomas, took over the firm when his father died, and it was this second Thomas who bought No. 27 Lowther Street in around 1830 for use as both his residence and as a snuff and tobacco factory.

Samuel Gawith, a Snuff Manufacturer

Jane Harrison Thomas's daughter, eloped to Gretna Green in 1838 with a young man of Kendal, Samuel Gawith.

Her father did not share her feelings for Samuel but, once married, he became reconciled and when he died in 1841 he left the business to them, and over the years Samuel Gawith continued to prosper as a family man and a man of business.

At the age of 48 he was elected Mayor to become the leading citizen of his native town, in 1865, but sadly he died before finishing his year of office. The eldest son, also called Samuel, was only 22 and his father had wisely left the firm in the hands of three trustees, one of whom was this son.

The elder trustee was Henry Hoggarth, a boyhood friend and neighbour in Lowther Street who had founded a Kendal firm of land agents and surveyors.

The second trustee was John Thomas Illingworth, who was the representative for the Gawith firm and a valued employee.

The firm continued to prosper under Samuel and his brother John, but only two years later, John Illingworth left to found his own rival company.

Illingworth’s Original Snuff Mill

Illingworth's company prospered, on various sites, over the years until a disastrous fire in February 1983, at its Aynam Mills premises destroyed everything.

The Loss of a Snuff Manufacturer

Tobacco, tools, tins, labels and machinery dating back to 1867, were all gone after the disasterous fire. The factory was rebuilt but the firm closed in 1986, after 119 years.

The Original Trade Sign

In spite of John Illingworth's departure, the firm in Lowther Street survived and it was during this period in the 1870s, that the first carved figure of the Turk was erected over the entrance to the premises.

The Importance of Trade Signs

Trade signs were a common sight in the 18th and 19th centuries as a form of advertising.

Various signs denoted the trades carried out, a large key, boot or chair would mark a locksmith, cobbler or chair maker.

Kendal had its Bristly Hog over Black Hall on Stricklandgate, once a brush factory.

Tobacco Shops in Kendal

Tobacco manufacturers often had the figure of a 'Highlander', 'Blackamoor', or 'Indian Prince' as could be seen on David Parker's shop in Finkle Street, but Kendal's Turk is derived from the sign displayed outside the 'Turk's Head' Coffee House in London where Dr. Johnson and other notable 18th century men used to take their snuff with their coffee.

The original Turk in Lowther Street survived for a century until it perished with old age, and was replaced in 1975 by Kendal Town Council to celebrate European Heritage Year.

It was restored and repainted at the expense of Kendal Civic Society in 2009.

In the premises behind the Turk, Samuel and his younger brother John Edward Gawith continued to run the firm but, in 1878, they decided amicably to go their separate ways and so the two Gawith firms came into being.

Samuel took over the snuff mill and business at Mealbank, and John stayed on in Lowther Street.

Snuff Making at Canal Head

Samuel's business, Samuel Gawith & Company, thrived and, in 1881 he had a new factory built near Canal Head, calling it Kendal Brown House, in honour of the firm's most famous brand of snuff.

Canal Head, showing the Kendal Brown House

The Kendal Brown House Snuff Mill

Kendal Brown House is still there today, making twist and flake from the tobacco leaves, and grinding snuff slowly and ponderously, using machinery centuries old.

The Workings of a Snuff Mill

Snuff from Kendal Brown House is exported all over the world and sold in this country as well.

The Rise of Gawith Hoggarth's Company in Kendal

The firm in Lowther Street went through some troubled times but, in 1887, a new partnership was founded between Samuel's youngest brother, William Henry, and Henry Hoggarth junior, to be known as Gawith Hoggarth Company.

The Hoggarth Family Residence

The Hoggarth family had long lived at number 29, now home to a firm of architects.

Water Power and Snuff

Gawith and Hoggarth soon set up a new watermill for grinding snuff at Helsington Laithes, just south of Kendal, which was only dismantled a few years ago.

Helsington Water Wheel

This watermill had been built at the end of the 18th century by Francis Webster, the famous Kendal architect and builder, for cutting and polishing limestone and marble.

The Use of Snuff

Snuff was carried in little boxes, some very ordinary, some with precious stones and enamels. These are collected nowadays and are often very valuable and highly prized by collectors.

The Saracen as He Stands Today

Gawith Hoggarth Company continued to manufacture tobacco products and snuff at the Lowther Street works until 2009, when they moved to new business premises off the Shap Road.

Snuff is still sold all over the world and, since smoking in public was banned, has become more popular.

Snuff used to be taken by all kinds of people, from the gentry to labourers. It was especially popular in work places where a spark from a pipe or cigarette would have been dangerous or deadly.

How many know that after over 250 years, Kendal is still producing tobacco flake, twist and snuff?

Although the old tobacco works has moved the Saracen is still there for all to see as a link with Kendal's past.