'London Rock' Making Candy Factory (1957) | British Pathé

Do you ever wonder how rock candy is made? Check out how the producers of 'London Rock' candy produced it in 1957 in a candy factory in Wood Green, London.
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(FILM ID:57.18)
Wood Green, London.
An object which looks like a large boiler or distilling barrel appears on screen. A man wheels a trolley with a basin on and places it under the strange barrel. He opens a tap at the bottom and a glue-like liquid starts pouring into the basin. After the basin is filled, he closes the tap and wheels the basin next to a long working table. He pours the liquid across the table helped by another man.
This is a sweet factory in Wood Green where London Rock is made. Glue-like liquid is toffee of which the London Rock is made - a mixture of glucose and cane sugar boiled in the strange barrel at 260 degrees Fahrenheit.
A man pours a colouring into the toffee and starts mixing it slowly. C/U shot of the man's hand mixing colour into toffee. M/S of the two men making letters. The man wearing glasses is Mr Jerry Toll who has made the rock for 38 years. He and another man (young, possibly apprentice) are mixing strips of red and white toffee into rolls, each containing an individual letter. Rolls with individual letters are then placed into a large roll (a huge one) which, when stretched and cut, becomes London rock.
Three men are lifting a huge roll to chain it on one side so they can hang it to stretch. After the roll is stretched, hand rolling takes place. Rolling has to be done very fast since it takes an hour for the toffee mixture to become too hard to handle. Succession of shots showing how huge thick roll is stretched and rolled into thin strips of London Rock. Rock is then measured and cut (with large scissors) into strips seven inches long ready for packaging.
Film ends with a great C/U shot of a pile of circles, each reading 'London Rock'. No wonder they are famous!
BRITISH PATHÉ'S STORY
Before television, people came to movie theatres to watch the news. British Pathé was at the forefront of cinematic journalism, blending information with entertainment to popular effect. Over the course of a century, it documented everything from major armed conflicts and seismic political crises to the curious hobbies and eccentric lives of ordinary people. If it happened, British Pathé filmed it.
British Pathé also represents the Reuters historical collection, which includes more than 136,000 items from the news agencies Gaumont Graphic (1910-1932), Empire News Bulletin (1926-1930), British Paramount (1931-1957), and Gaumont British (1934-1959), as well as Visnews content from 1957 to the end of 1984. All footage can be viewed on the British Pathé website. www.britishpat...

[@TheWindii]

I am equally amazed by the quality of the narration.

[@francissantiago4110]

Bare hands, no gloves

[@jambomaltido]

Old Received Pronunciation was smooth as buttah!

[@victorarmijo8434]

He's been making ROCK for 38 years!! Quite they experience.

[@tonygunk6345]

Back in the day it was totally normal to be an apprentice for six years to be a candy maker. I wish I lived when times were so simple

[@Liusila]

No upwards mobility options though - that same job you started as a teenager you have for life.

[@Oddballkane]

​@Liusila is true, it also ment you would never be out of a job but it also meant you could afford everything on one salary.

[@Carroty_Peg]

@@Liusila where's the upward mobility now! less now than in the 60s, akkkstually.

[@ryanwhite7906]

this is amazing. Many people think that factory work is low skilled work which justifies low oay. Yet this shows that some factory work requires a more wider skillset than some office jobs. Having to do an apprenticeship which lasts six years which is more longer than a university degree

[@abductedbyfairies]

The fact that you see candymakers today using gloves because of the heat makes you respect those mofos back in the day even more, beasts' hands they fear nothing lol

[@romainvicta3076]

And No leeched Estrogenic microplastics from Plastic gloves into the Sweets either!

[@abductedbyfairies]

@romainvicta3076 yeah, I'm kinda annoyed by this obsession with gloves. Soap and water is literally what lowered the transmission of every disease. If you're healthy and wash your hands you can't give people anything. Plus, it's the same people who complain about the lack of gloves, ignoring the long ass beards and hair flowing around instead of wearing a cap and keeping well groomed. Goofy aah wannabe hygienists.

[@Krasniysharigg]

​​@@romainvicta3076 but pieces of sweat, skin and maybe blood (which comes off hands much more easily than microplastic comes off gloves) - very tasty 🙃

[@resentfulsoulofthetoilet589]

​@@Krasniysharigg Adds flavour

[@BBPalmer420]

@@KrasniyshariggI love a lil flesh in my rock

[@Oddballkane]

It's fascinating that these ways haven't really changed they still make the rock the same way for years.

[@tomlawson4713]

Amazing doesn’t even sound like a real word anymore after looking at these comments.

[@coloradostrong]

Amazing you would say that.

[@iceetmarne3571]

What a skill. We wonder why people do t want to go to work these days. I'm sure it's boring after a while but it's insanely specialized!

[@iczer01]

The heat that’s gotta be coming off those and no gloves those guys are crazy skilled

[@Twirlyhead]

Never ceases to impress me. Amaze even.

[@Tsudoshi09]

I love the narration and technicolor film!

[@barbd5607]

I know you can still see this amazing work in Yarmouth, UK.

[@ariangh815]

Nice 👍👍👍

[@H-D1]

It’s amazing

[@thenotoriousblank3502]

it's amazing

[@spazticle8752]

that first machine looks straight out of wallace and gromit

[@tedoneilclark4710]

Absolutely amazing. I would love some of this rock from 1957. It looks delicious.😄♥️😄

[@oldhippie81]

I have some Blackpool Rock from the 1970;s. Hi. from Tasmania Australia.

[@tedoneilclark4710]

@@oldhippie81 Have you tried eating it 🤣🤣🤣

[@oldhippie81]

@@tedoneilclark4710 Still looks goodenough to eat🙂

[@tedoneilclark4710]

@@oldhippie81 let me know 😀

[@robharding5345]

Losing most of my teeth in my early teens was mostly down to the wonderful world of Rock, But everything has to come to an end at some point, But it was worth it, These rock makers are so skilled in the art of rock making, they are probably long dead by now, But we wont forget you guys. Rock on !

[@robharding5345]

It depends on what flavour you prefer, from mint, to liquorice.and many more to boot.@DonnellOkafor-pd7yn

[@DefendTheStar]

​@DonnellOkafor-pd7yn sweet it was equal parts fructose and cane sugar

[@davinatest8467]

Those old copper boilers and bowls would cost a fortune now…..perhaps stainless steel wasn’t available back then.

[@sarahlouise7163]

copper is preferred as it allows for a more even temperature, apparently

[@sweypheonix]

Commercial candy makers generally still use copper. I have seen brittle makers still using what looks like the same pot for 40 years

[@rumelia]

İt's amazing.

[@buoyanProjects]

Amazing it is

[@leniszameit]

i have tried searching for this candy. i only knew what my foster welsh gma called it.ive google search for it by that name.never found it. now i know what the proper name for it is called and i will finf it. tyvm much for this info

[@sebeckley]

The umbrella term is picture candy.

[@saran3214]

Love the little hats the candy makers wear. When I eat candy I will pretend they made it.

[@paradisehotel5005]

Absolutely amazing!

[@anthropomorphie]

it’s amazing

[@A_Ejem]

Amazing work!

[@ajanideroock]

That looks so amazing!

[@nikkithiduong6134]

So relaxing watching your channel

[@tombranch2261]

That sugar syrup is a huge pain to clean when it hardens, it becomes like concrete.

[@rusipotam]

Just use hot water

[@stephanieparker1250]

I bet those guys have muscles like piano wires 😲

[@Liusila]

Why?

[@ElleVitaYT]

Amazing

[@avaguitarestava]

I bet candy tasted so much better back then

[@Bobby-wn5yr]

Thanks KZbin algorithm, now I know how rock’s made… still unclear on the why though.

[@cynthiaprentice8420]

Silly, it is made on purpose just to rot your teeth whilst enjoying the process!!

[@sarahlouise7163]

you are actually asking why is rock made?

[@cynthiaprentice8420]

To the person who was asking about gloves….. nobody had gloves for very much indeed, including hospitals! As a Student Nurse we had to do everything with bare hands, including the very worst imaginable things! But it made sure that you learned how to scrub up properly!!

[@hdkdhdodhdnddjfkfjfofkfofo1453]

It's amazing!

[@laurelhardy8886]

It’s amazing 🍬

[@martinhandy7520]

It's amazing! Just joining the crowd!

[@timotejpetrovic5626]

I live in Wood Green, London - they recently replaced the factory with blocks of flats.

[@georgezee5173]

I live in Wood Green too and this video just popped up in my feed. Where was that factory? Was it next to the chocolate factory?

[@sammyboyjnr5520]

​@georgezee5173 Yes that's right

[@georgezee5173]

@@sammyboyjnr5520 thank you!

[@anuragathelordofspectating9924]

The art of making such ornate candy is impressive. The narrator is a meme producer, though.

[@cfaz6763]

It's AMAZING!

[@Kakashi_Senseiofficial]

These make me so hungry lol.

[@Angellirav]

WHY EVERYONE IS SAYING "its amazing"

[@theemeraldomed6856]

it’s amazing

[@NoK1dding]

They made the words LONDON ROCK come out legibly and placed perfectly at such a large scale working with giant ropes of colored sugar. Wow!

[@nunyabiznes33]

Amazing!

[@PlutoTheSynth]

it is amazing

[@igjoni1987]

Anyone else here because if the morning brew?

[@101Volts]

I'm here because of the channel this is uploaded from; British Pathe.

[@justinbetland9792]

I'm amazed

[@rauliopinandito9119]

Anyone know the background orchestra song is?

[@autokorrektor8166]

Very interesting!

[@ncs8730]

Absolutely amazing. And quite incredible today.

[@melanienagy6389]

A lot work doing it by hand.

[@ticketyboo2456]

Is it amazing? Yes, it is🍭

[@rolly97420]

Was there already videos with so much quality and colored in 1957? Or it's remastered.

[@IcheeCOTC]

video on film. Film (it's color variant was invented in about 1900) is much higher resolution than the average LCD or OLED monitor or even camera of the modern day, but it needs to go through development before it can be used. Audio may also be recorded on the unused portion of the same film for an audio-visual recording, or recorded on something else for separate audio and video recordings. it's also entirely possible that the video is indeed remastered, but given that many videos from this channel have been referred to as Reels, I believe that that is the less likely scenario, if only by a very small amount.

[@findfind8349]

In the former US and UK, manufacturing is still affecting the world.

[@danielmillar7628]

I grew up in Wood Green

[@HariSupriono]

....what weight?

[@DavidJCane]

The measure is a "hundredweight" (abbreviation "cwt"), so this was 2 cwt equal to 224 lbs or 101.6 kg.

[@amarok5048]

Impressive!

[@justinbetland9792]

?

[@charlieterry6483]

wonder how many arm hairs fall into this candy🤔

[@oscarcacnio8418]

Holy crap, that's a lot of sugar... And if it were Lofty Pursuits making it, that's gonna be a very big batch of Unicorn Droppings.

[@johnnyace1300]

yes!

[@philmuskett265]

Rock on!!!

[@uyku]

it's amazong

[@LolLol-xy4rh]

Delicious

[@eXorae325i]

Shutup It's amazing

[@Philontheisland]

Now you just get a rock thrown at you in Wood Green

[@her_biggest_fan]

Honest fire

[@Khan-ro2ol]

Where are they now ? I want to meet them 😊

[@Captain-Nostromo]

A lot of DNA in that candy 😝

[@101Volts]

Quite a feat.

[@riananggara5085]

My god, the lettering!

[@user-lt5xi8iz3g]

Now the stretching is done by a machine 😮

[@600322]

I thought that us was the only strange country to use Fahrenheit-degrees.But the voiceover man clearly speaks uk-english.And England are well known to use Celsius-centigrades and Miles&inch.......

[@ianb9028]

This was the 1950’s. The system of pounds, hundredweight, pints, quarts, inches, foot, yard, rods and roods etc is collectively known as "imperial" measurements. The British at the time did not even use metric money (unlike the US) they used farthings, pounds, shillings and pence - 12 pence to the shilling and 20 shillings to a pound, 5 shillings was a crown. They also had something called a guinea which I think was 1 pound 1 shilling but could be very wrong about that.

[@SlavicMogger]

Wonderful and amazing candy, right about enough to get 100 people diabities

[@ncs8730]

You're not expected to eat a pile of those.

[@proputeshestviya]

Все работают без перчаток. Сейчас такое не возможно, а тогда все проще было.

[@S.E.C-R]

Oh well, we almost saw how they make the letters…

[@luthmhor]

Used to be able to earn a living wage working at places like this. Didn't have to compete with people from all over the world for jobs in your own country, let alone city.

[@laerwen]

Wages need to go up with the cost of living. Blaming this issue on immigrants is what the fascists want you to do.

[@coloradostrong]

Illegal Invaders, not "migrants". And you can thank the _small hats_ for their usury that everyone calls "inflation". @@laerwen

[@PlutoTheSynth]

what's a "weight"?

[@DavidJCane]

The measure is a "hundredweight" (abbreviation "cwt"), so this was 2 cwt equal to 224 lbs or 101.6 kg.

[@francissantiago4110]

No protection 😃 if he got burn 0:17

[@DarkMetaOFFICIAL]

ah yes, british crack rocks. indeed

[@apomegranatefrog]

I hade Margate rock and it’s tasty

[@Betitrox]

😳😳😳wooooo

[@donniecatalano]

No gloves, damn they used to be tough back then. I feel like every generation is getting a little softer...

[@Super-BallSharp]

No, each generation is getting *smarter.* What is the downside of using gloves?

[@Blackluck9647]

3:02 he's goddamn cute, i wonder how is he now

[@PlutoTheSynth]

truee :3

[@Blackluck9647]

​@@PlutoTheSynth maybe he is now an elderly grandad or sad thing hopefully not maybe long gone, but i am certain of one thing he is no longer a cute boy

[@DavidJCane]

Michael Young would probably have left school at 14. If he had served the full six-year apprenticeship mentioned he would have been around 20 in 1957. So if he is still around today he will be around 87 years old.

[@yedamsshoes2309]

Where the rock was made😨

[@jerrywhitmarsh]

Pure sugar, pretty much ...

[@isabellaliwanag7241]

The only thing makes me interested in this is the style of the 50s

[@michaelroberts7374]

Blackpool rock did for my teeth!! 😂

[@estudiante3438]

😗🤤candyyy

[@2027النجم]

💯

[@馥瑜郭]

三座木橋！？

[@simonnuman6840]

It’s amazing, the art of rolling rock by hand is dead now. Shame, these people used to be able to make a living doing regular jobs and now you need to sell your soul to barely survive.. that’s if you can even get a job.

[@square-on-wheels]

💗🍬

[@pallavroy7215]

Copper use ❤❤❤

[@mikeoxynormous3643]

Either this is AI or that man lost a finger

[@georginashanti4605]

OHS nightmare....

[@francissantiago4110]

No gloves, I can see theres a hair in that candy

[@evegreen7604]

It’s not toffee

[@Hero101010]

Do you think they had an inkling of a suspicion their children would be replaced by pakistanis?

[@ezpz3784]

Asbestos hands!

[@evegreen7604]

That why people have lost all these teeth 😅

[@JackSmith-kp2vs]

Ah well who cares about art anyway

[@kinetsievarvenfloot1237]

Rock is foul. 🤢

[@someoneelse.2252]

It's not amazing.

[@justinbetland9792]

?

[@someoneelse.2252]

@@justinbetland9792 : I was making fun of all the "it's amazing' crowd. I honestly enjoyed watching craftsmen at work.

[@ilovegot7754]

Lol these bots are ridiculous they ruin the comments

[@101Volts]

@@ilovegot7754 I saw 13 or more comments saying the same exact "it's amazing" thing, and all were upvoted over 400 times. Yeah, that only seems _normal_ of bots.

[@mohmdakel]

Disgusting

[@dannydougin3925]

*Ew!* No gloves! Gross!

[@danielwyczawski5372]

I used to live on Wood green😍🙈

[@sammyboyjnr5520]

This is from when Wood Green still had English people