Crosse & Blackwell is an English food

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

. The original company was established in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1706, then was acquired by Edmund Crosse and Thomas Blackwell in 1830. It became independent until it was acquired by Swiss conglomerate

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...

in 1960 and sold in 2002. Products branded by Crosse & Blackwell include

condiment A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to enhance the Flavoring, flavour, to complement the dish or to impart a specific flavor. Such specific flavors generally add sweetness or pungency, or sharp or piquant ...

marmalade Marmalade (from the Portuguese ''marmelada'') is a fruit preserves, fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It also has been made from lemons ...

s, meat sauces, seafood sauces,

mincemeat Mincemeat is a mixture of chopped apples and dried fruit, distilled spirits or vinegar, spices, and optionally, meat and beef suet. Mincemeat is usually used as a pie or pastry filling. Traditional mincemeat recipes contain meat, notably beef ...

mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, small, round seeds of ...

pickles Pickle, pickled or Pickles may refer to: Food * Pickle, a food that has undergone pickling * Pickled cucumber * Pickle, a sweet, vinegary pickled chutney popular in Britain, such as Branston Pickle, also known as "sweet pickle" or "ploughman's ...

and

pickled onion Pickled onions are a food item consisting of onions (cultivars of '' Allium cepa'') pickled in a solution of vinegar and salt, often with other preservatives and flavourings. plus salted fish, and it held royal appointments to

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

and

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

. Described as "oilmen and salters", West & Wyatt had factory premises at 11 King Street (now

Shaftesbury Avenue Shaftesbury Avenue is a major road in the West End of London, named after The 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. It runs north-easterly from Piccadilly Circus to New Oxford Street, crossing Charing Cross Road at Cambridge Circus. From Piccadill ...

) in

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

in 1818, packaging and supplying sweet oils, foods preserved in oil, and crystallised fruits and

preserves Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the meth ...

. In 1819, the company was joined by two apprentices: Edmund Crosse (1804–1862) and Thomas Blackwell (1804–1879). In 1830 they borrowed £600 from their families to buy the business, which became known as "Crosse & Blackwell". The company was one of the first to secure a royal warrant from

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, in 1837. By 1839, the company had expanded and moved its offices and shop to 20–21

Soho Square Soho Square is a garden square in Soho, London, hosting since 1954 a ''de facto'' public park leasehold estate, let by the Soho Square Garden Committee to Westminster City Council. It was originally called King Square after Charles II of Engla ...

. During the following decade, it pioneered the use of celebrity chefs as endorsers and collaborators, working with

Alexis Soyer Alexis Benoît Soyer (4 February 1810 – 5 August 1858) was a French chef, writer and inventor, who made his reputation in Victorian England. Born in north-east France, Soyer trained as a chef in Paris, and quickly built a career that was bro ...

from 1850 to create the tangy Soyer's Sauce, Soyer's Relish and Soyer's Sultana Sauce products. It was also a wholesaler of Lea & Perrins

Worcestershire sauce Worcestershire sauce or Worcester sauce (UK: ) is a fermented liquid condiment invented by pharmacists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins in the city of Worcester in Worcestershire, England, during the first half of the 19th century ...

. Crosse & Blackwell opened a vinegar brewery in Caledonian Road and started pickle packing at Soho Square, described by

Henry Mayhew Henry Mayhew (25 November 1812 – 25 July 1887) was an English journalist, playwright, and advocate of reform. He was one of the co-founders of the satirical magazine '' Punch'' in 1841, and was the magazine's joint editor, with Mark Lemon, in ...

in his 1865 book ''The Shops and Companies of London, and the Trades and Manufactories of Great Britain'', in a report entitled "Girls in Pickle". Crosse & Blackwell also acquired a small

Bermondsey Bermondsey ( ) is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, ...

canning firm, Gamble & Company, established in 1812 as Donkin,

Hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and the Early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gre ...

and Gamble, to produce preserved fruit, vegetables and meat to supply long-distance vessels. In 1849, the company also established a plant in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

, Ireland, to produce canned salmon. Over the latter years of the 19th century, Crosse & Blackwell developed several buildings in Charing Cross Road, close to its Soho Square premises. In 1875–76, the company commissioned a two-storey stable complex at 111 Charing Cross Road, designed by architect Robert Lewis Roumieu. Roumieu died in 1877, but his son, Reginald St Aubyn Roumieu, trading as Roumieu & Aitchison, completed a further warehouse at 151–155 Charing Cross Road, (which remained in use until 1921) and, in 1888, designed another warehouse at 157 Charing Cross Road, which was completed in 1893. In 1927, it was redeveloped as a cinema, later the Astoria theatre and music venue. Iin 2010, following the Astoria's demolition to make way for the London

Crossrail Crossrail is a completed railway project centred on London. It provides a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system, akin to the Réseau Express Régional, RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries, kn ...

scheme, the remains of around 13,000 Victorian jam jars and pickle pots were recovered from a former vault of the warehouse. From 1888 until the 1920s, Crosse & Blackwell also had offices at 114–116 Charing Cross Road, again designed by Roumieu & Aitchison.

20th century

Before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Crosse & Blackwell, a limited company since 1892, established its first factory in continental Europe, in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. After the war, in 1919, it acquired another Bermondsey-based business, sauce and pickle maker E. Lazenby & Son Ltd, and

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

-based marmalade manufacturer James Keiller & Son Ltd in 1924. The latter had a factory at Tay Wharf in east London's

Silvertown Silvertown is a district of West Ham in the London Borough of Newham, in east London, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, Thames and was historically part of the parishes of West Ham and East Ham, Becontree Hundred, hund ...

district, close to the River Thames, rail links and

Henry Tate Sir Henry Tate, 1st Baronet (11 March 18195 December 1899) was an English merchant and philanthropist, noted for establishing the Tate Britain, Tate Gallery and the company that became Tate & Lyle. Early life Henry Tate was born in White Copp ...

's sugar refinery. Further acquisitions included Cosmelli Packing Company, Robert Kellie & Son, Batzer & Co, and Alexander Cairns & Sons. After World War I, Crosse & Blackwell established further factories overseas. By 1930, it had plants in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, as well as in the UK and Hamburg. In 1928, it acquired the largest Irish jam and confectionery producer, Williams and Woods.

Branston

In 1920, Crosse & Blackwell made a successful £612,856 bid to acquire a factory site in Branston, just outside

Burton upon Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

, which they pledged to turn into the largest and best-equipped food preserving plant in the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. In 1922, the company started to produce

Branston Pickle Branston is an English food brand best known for the original Branston Pickle, a sweet pickle first made in 1922 in the village of Branston, Staffordshire, Branston near Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, by Crosse & Blackwell. The Branston fact ...

, to a recipe attributed to Mrs Caroline Graham and her daughters Evelyn and Ermentrude, at its new factory, but the factory proved uneconomic and production was moved to the Lazenby site in Crimscott Street, Bermondsey. Production at Branston ended in January 1925, leading to large scale local unemployment, and many local people boycotted Crosse & Blackwell products as a result. The Bermondsey site was expanded with new buildings in 1924 and 1926 and remained in use until 1969.

Keiller

Morris Commercial delivery van 3485cc manufactured 1937

The Keiller factory in Silvertown had been destroyed in an 1889 fire and rebuilt the following year. It continued manufacture of preserves, chocolates and confectionery until it was again destroyed, this time bombed during the first daylight air raid on London on 7 September 1940. Chocolate and confectionery work was transferred to Dundee, but preserves manufacture was eventually restarted. This then transferred to

in 1956.

Nestlé

In 1960,

bought the Crosse & Blackwell Group and developed the name across a number of food categories worldwide. The acquisition increased Nestlé's output, adding 11 factories and included the largest fish-canning factory in the UK (located in

Peterhead Peterhead (; , ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is the council area's largest settlement, with a population of 19,060 at the 2022 Census for Scotland, 2022 Census. It is the largest fishing port in the United Kingdom for total landi ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

). At the time of the acquisition, Crosse & Blackwell employed 4,700 workers in production and 1,900 other employees and salespeople. For a while, its head office was in Crown House, Morden, south-west London. The brand was later owned by

Premier Foods Premier Foods plc is a British food manufacturer headquartered in St Albans, Hertfordshire. The group owns many well-known brands, including Mr Kipling, Ambrosia (food), Ambrosia, Bird's Custard, Angel Delight, Homepride cooking sauces, J. Lyons ...

. A prominent member of the founder's family is

Chris Blackwell Christopher Percy Gordon Blackwell OJ (born 22 June 1937) is a Jamaican-British former record producer and the founder of Island Records, which has been called "one of Britain's great independent labels". According to the Rock and Roll Hall ...

, founder of

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

21st century

Nestlé divested the Crosse & Blackwell operations in 2002. Today ownership of the brand is divided between

The J.M. Smucker Company The J.M. Smucker Company, also known as Smuckers, is an American manufacturer of food and beverage products. Headquartered in Orrville, Ohio, the company was founded in 1897 as a maker of apple butter. J.M. Smucker currently has three major b ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Princes Group Princes Group is an international food and drink group involved in the manufacture, import and distribution of branded and customer own-brand products. Founded in 1880 and headquartered in the UK, and recently acquired by Newlat Food S.p.A. Hi ...

in Europe and

Tiger Brands Tiger Brands Limited () is a South African packaged goods company. In addition to the company's South African operations, Tiger Brands has direct and indirect interests in international food businesses in Chile, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria, K ...

in South Africa. In Japan, the company's curry powder is still manufactured by Nestlé for food service packages of 400g, 2 kg and 10 kg each.ネスレプロフェショナル業務用製品カタログ
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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crosse and Blackwell 1706 establishments in England Food product brands Brand name condiments British condiments The J.M. Smucker Co. brands Condiment companies of the United Kingdom Food and drink companies of England