Peek, Freans
Peek Frean,
Cross & Blackwell, Liptons, Peace Duff, Hartleys, Courage, Sarsons, Spillers,
Shuttleworths and Yardley all had factories in Bermondsey that it is no wonder
the borough had the nickname of ‘London’s larder’. I was brought up in Bermondsey and apart from
the annual holiday, (usually in a chalet just outside Dymchurch,) virtually
spent all my early life in a small area around the Peek Frean biscuit factory.
My immediate family were born and bred in Bermondsey and being the largest employer
in the area, many of them worked at Peek’s.
My Dad was a van boy and then a truck driver, my Mum in accounts and
payroll and at least two uncles and five aunts in the factory or other
departments. On Saturdays when other boys would go out to play or (if very
lucky?) go to Millwall, I would be taken down to the PF sports ground on the
Sidcup by-pass to watch my Dad play for the company team, although around
September I would spend more time collecting conkers. Until I married and because of the availability
and cost of trying to stay in London moved out, (a fate to later befall the
factory,) many of my friends also worked in Peek’s.
When the
wind was in the right direction or when walking close to the factory, anyone
who has lived in that area will remember the smells and trying to guess the
type of biscuit, savoury snack or other that was being baked. The Peek Frean
brand has now all but disappeared except for the factory in Canada, which
supplies a small selection of different biscuits for the North American market.
The legacy is the biscuits
invented (such as Bourbon, Garibaldi, Custard Creams, Twiglets
and many more) and our memories. I have therefore started this thread for us all to add our memories and pictures.
I always remember the smell of Macaroons. When I started work for Bermondsey Borough Council back in 1962, I discovered that Bermondsey was one of the wealthiest boroughs, because of all the business premises that were there. The problem was in the amalgamation of the boroughs in 1965 Southwark Metropolitan council was almost bankrupt and Camberwell was not much better, our money went to bolster up these two councils.
Hi all. In about 1965 I also worked for PF. I was in need of buying my wife to be an engagement ring but certainly didnt have enough to buy what she wanted. I was employed full time at Butlers Wharf but the pay wasnt great so what I used to do was leave Butlers at 5pm and walk to pF and do a shift from 5.30 to 9.30 on apart time basis. Being so tall I was called Lofty and it was my job to fill up a big barrow, like a mini skip, with fat and lard. This was shovelled into a machine which made the mixture for the biscuits. Unfortunately, this was very tiring and obviously the extra hours took their toll. What didnt help was that I was always going into a fish shop for my late tea. This and the combination of eating too many biscuits played havoc with my digestive system that I had to pack up the job. Still, I got through it, got married, moved to the coast after a few years, had two boys and later in life got divorced. Great times in Bermondsey though. Wouldnt change them for the world.
Peek, Freans original factory was in Mill Street at Dockhead. They expanded at this site as much as they could until in 1866 they bought an area of market garden and built the Drummond Road factory. In April 1873 the Mill Street works was destroyed by fire.
Drawing of the Dockhead works & offices:
Recent photo of the Mill Street works site:
The Drummond Road factory in 1868. The baptist church, which still stands in Drummond Road, can be seen to the top left of the drawing.
My great aunt Julia ''Julie'' Ward (nee Cox - she was the mother of the twins Sam and George Ward who owned Wards Electrics shop in Abbey Street) worked at Peek Freans.
I remember getting a big tin of biscuits from aunt Julie every Christmas.
Aerial photo of the Drummond Road site taken around 1957:
With thanks to Jim, four pictures taken from the roof of Peeks, probably similar time to the aerial photo above.
1) The clock tower
2) The north-west view towards St James Church &Tower Bridge
3) The railway tracks
4) The view over Gosnells and down Raymouth Road
What fantastic photos. What year were they taken?
Phil.
That second view towards St James Church & Tower Bridge is brilliant. I remember the corresponding view back from my cousins, high up in Casby House (next to St James) - just a sea of victorian terraces, even until the early seventies. I wish I had a similar photograph of that view.
A couple of screen grabs from the 1906 silent movie "A visit to Peek Frean & Co's biscuit works", which has recently been released on DVD by Sands Films together with a film from 1988:
Here a couple of screen grabs from a 1988 camcorder home recording (not the Sands one) taken around the Peeks factory:
1) Packing
2) Maintaining the line
3) Measuring and mixing
4) Shirley on the line
5) Goodbye!
Another pic taken on the roof at Peek's that I found on the web. When I looked again, to try and gather names and to credit the picture, I couldn't find it.
Peek Frean had a very active sports & social club with a club room in Clements Road and a sports ground with pavilion on the Sidcup bypass in Eltham. Having witnessed the first London Marathon in 1981, they formed a marathon section. This pictures shows two members (John & George) running down the Highway approx 1986.
in the 2nd picture is the pub the claremont........?
Hello Bermbird,
The pub in the photo is The New Concorde in Clements Road, opposite Scott Lidgett School and where the gates are now. The New Concorde pub is now flats.
Phil (Bermondsey Beat)
Hi bermbird & bermindsey beat,
At the time of the photo, the pub was the New Concord (no 'e'), 96 Keetons Road (on the corner with Clements Road. The building still stands although it is being converted (into flats?). This would also have been around 10-15 years before Scott Lidgett school was built on the other side of the road.
The Claremont is in Dunton Road (formally Upper Grange Road)
The New Concorde, early 2009, undergoing conversion. Note that the short part of Keetons Road that still remains here was renamed as part of Webster Road
