The Rise and Fall of Biscuit Town: Developing and Redeveloping Huntley & Palmers Biscuit Factory

A video version of a talk I presented for Reading Civic Society in May 2022. Based on my doctoral research at the University of Reading, it explores the history of the Huntley & Palmers Biscuit Manufactory on Kings Road, Reading between about 1800 and 2000.

[@DavidAmbrose-jx5mg]

Hello Mr. Doak. Many thanks for this fascinating account of Huntley and Palmers and it's place in the life of the town of Reading. My great grandfather, John Ambrose, was a baker there in the later part of the 19th Century and on into the Edwardian era. Your observation that rates of pay were low is born out by my Grandfather, George Ambrose who told me that his Dad used to joke that at H.P. as a baker, you were paid four Pounds a week. One Pound in gold, and three in broken biscuits . I was a boy in Reading in the 1950's and even then I believe the factory was the chief employer for the town. You could tell where you were in the town even with your eyes closed in those days just by the smells : The Cadena coffee house roasting coffee beans, Simmons brewery at the far end of Broad Street, and, where Kings road crossed the canal, the smell of fresh baked biscuits. I left the UK in 1976, the year the factory closed and have lived in rural eastern Ontario ever since making my living as a self employed furniture maker. Your excellent presentation has brought back vivid memories of childhood and youth in Reading. I'm very grateful to you. David Ambrose.

[@joedoak]

My pleasure David. Great memories on your part! Luckily, there are about 12 recordings of workers at H&P talking about their memories of life in the factory. These were done in 1980. Extracts from one of the interviews can be heard in the Town Museum (and online through the H&P Collection) and I have a copy of all the transcripts.

[@alexc8209]

My mum was friends with a lady from Serbia (I think) who did alot of the urban planning or Bracknell in the 60's. I wonder if you know her. Anyway do you think that Reading is an example of good Urban planning and development in general? I lived in Reading from 1984 to 2008. Benn back there 3 or 4 times since and shocked at all the changes. Anyway I dont expect an answer to this comment but Im just wondering if everyone is happy or if alot are scratching their head at whats going on.

[@joedoak]

Mixed feelings really. Reading has certainly changed over the last 50 years….but it has always been changing. Some people like many of the changes. I enjoyed my 30 years living there and kinda like the fact that the town’s history was often hidden, so you have to discover it. The regeneration of old (industrial) Reading has also been hit and miss. I think the pedestrianisation of Broad Street has made the shopping experience much better and the Oracle could have been much worse than it turned out (even if it suffers from being ‘slab architecture’). The people of Reading have changed but it still retains a strong working class base and immigrants from all over the UK and the world has made it diverse and interesting. Let’s hope it continues to be ‘interesting’ in the years to come! PS. I don’t know your Serbian planner, but quite a few other planners in RBC and neighbouring LAs are/were from overseas.

[@alexc8209]

@@joedoak Thankyou for your reply. I agree that the Oracle was not too bad but im still scratching my head over the rail station area. By the way, my dad worked in the old Huntley and Palmers Recreation building in the 80's when it was Nabisco making Jacobs crackers and also Smiths crisps (im not sure if it was same time or later). Eventually Smiths were bought by Walkers and allowed him to work from home (he was an IT specialist). I visited him at work in that old building in the late 80's so i am proud to say that I have walked into a Huntley and Palmers building while it was still "working". Later I worked at 121 Kings road for the Prudential and I noticed that my chair was in almost exactly the same place as my dads office had been in the old building that used to be there! crazy. Anyway thankyou very much for your interest in Reading and please do keep the vides coming as they are very interesting and well made. Alex Croxford.

[@joedoak]

Cheers Alex. Lovely set of connections there! It’s funny how these H&P influences live on in people’s lives.