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Taylors Crisps

Claribel

master brummie
Taylors Crisps were made at a small factory unit at the bottom of an entry and long path between the houses in Wellington Street, Winson Green. In the early 1950s. The entry was opposite the junction of Villiers Street and Franklin Street. The unit was one of two that backed onto the canal towpath, the other unit was a plating and polishing company, not an ideal neighbour for a food factory. The owner was Mr Taylor who also had a fish and chip shop in Bacchus Road Winson Green opposite the public washing baths.
More about the factory, it was approx 25ft sqare with a central doorway and two windows one each side. On the left hand side just inside the doorway was where the potatoes were peeled and then stored in old hogshead barrels. Then taken a bucket at a time to where they were "eyed" and then a lady put them into a machine that sliced them ready to be fried in the large fryer very simular to what would be in a fish and chip shop, but this fryer had a large spindryer on the end to spin out the excess fat. After being spun dry the crisps were put onto a wooden tray and put into racking so that they could be cooled before being bagged up. This was done by hand on scales the same that was used in sweet shops, 1 ounce of crisps was weighed and put into each bag, along with a small blue bag of salt, to seal the bag glue was used, the same glue that was used in schools "Gloy" . Then the packets of crisps were packed into old square biscuit tins that Mr Taylor had aquired and spray painted them yellow and then stenciled Taylors Crisps in green. They were sealed with brown glued paper that had to be wet to make it sticky. The whole operation was done by 5 ladies, one peeled and sliced, one fried and spun, and three weighed and packed. Mr Taylor did install an automatic weighing machine but was not very good so the ladies prefered to weigh by hand. The main customers were local pubs and clubs and corner shops. Mr Taylor used to deliver them in a Ausin A40 Somerset van. The cost, just 3d a packet, they was very nice. How do I know all this, my mother used to be the lady that fried the crisps and I used to help in the unit after school. I hope that you find this interesting.
 
Never heard of Taylors crisps, but the story is fascinating. H&S probably would not allow such small endeavours to take place today, which is such a shame.
 
Thanks Alf for this - not had time today to read it all, but obviously I was wrong! Very interesting, will tryt and finish the rest tonight.

Shortie
 
Hi claribelle
when was this taylors crisp manufact was down wellinton street winson green [ what year are we talking off
i can recall the houses down there but not the crisp as i used to walk down there alot when i worked at avery scales
astonian;;
 
Hi Astonian, the years would be the early 1950s. You couldn't see the factory from the street as it was down an entry between the houses. The factory backed onto the canal towpath. As I said the entry was opposite the junction of Franklin St and Villiers St. Regards Clive
Hi claribelle
when was this taylors crisp manufact was down wellinton street winson green [ what year are we talking off
i can recall the houses down there but not the crisp as i used to walk down there alot when i worked at avery scales
astonian;;
 
hi clive ;
many thanks for letting me know just where about it was i am getting a vague picture at the moment as to where it was
so it could have been where the lads of bristol street motors bought there premises after they moved out or ceased trading ;
meaning the cresswell brothers whom had a little show room down on bristol street where they started and expanded to
it was there storage and repair centre ; and when they set up with a contract with fords partnership when fords would send down there cars they was seling ; the old type cars ; corsairs ; cortinas zythers mark i and 2 ; and the anglias in those days they would prepared them for customers at bristol street
i got 3d per hour in those days ;until i marched into the office and asked for a pay rise the blokes on the shop floor sauid i was bamy to and asked thenm
so i bolded in and asked; he smiled and said yes son you can ;i came out of the office with a certain lok on my face and the lads was all waiting to hear from me to say no but i said yes they did they laughed and said good on you son ; then the older guys said may be should go in but they never did ;
for months later i asked for a refenence to join thewaricks reg is company they gave it me and i left ;
6 months later they had changed and got biggerwithin themsrelves and employed a gate security officiers i went down the pathto the gates i was stopped and i told him i am an ex employee and i am on leave from the forces and i wanted to see the lads he said i heard all about you [ you was the one who marched in
and asked the gathers for a pay rise i said yes okay go and through ; he said ;
so i reckon that what happened to the taylors crisp factory ; best wishes clive ; alan ;; astonian;;
 
Alan I think that you have got the wrong place mate. The crisp factory had no access from the street and was only the size of a large brewhouse. There was a plot down by the 96 bus terminus that was used as a scrap yard that had something todo with Pat Roach the wrestler but that was a bit later in the early 60s. What years did you serve with the Royal Warwicks ? as I have a lot of mates that served with them.
Regards Clive
 
In Pat Roach's biography book he talks about a Scrap Yard Sparkbrook Metals Arthur Street Small Heath Brum, and it's near where I lived in Boulton Rd & Greenway Street in the later 60s - early 70s - the scrapyard was on the corner Coventry Road opposite the bus depot & over railway bridge - a Dennis Beech worked there in the 70s. When my son started Wyndcliffe school one of them used to give us a lift from school (his girlfriend's child went to the school).
 
In Pat Roach's biography book he talks about a Scrap Yard Sparkbrook Metals Arthur Street Small Heath Brum, and it's near where I lived in Boulton Rd & Greenway Street in the later 60s - early 70s - the scrapyard was on the corner Coventry Road opposite the bus depot & over railway bridge - a Dennis Beech worked there in the 70s. When my son started Wyndcliffe school one of them used to give us a lift from school (his girlfriend's child went to the school).
i have posted before somewere.... Pat was a friend of mine. i met him in a nechells scrap yard. all the time i knew him he would never speak of his films. bless him............. He unsuccessfully auditioned for the part of Darth Vader in Star Wars. Roach was born in Birmingham, and never really left it. In later life, he ran a health club in the city. He also co-wrote two books - one on on his boyhood, If, and another on the city's canals and jewellery workshops, Pat Roach's Birmingham (2004)
 
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