Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1729-1969 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
0.83 linear metres
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
The origins of Smith Kendon can be traced back to 1780 when William Smith set up business producing confectionery in Fell Street in the City of London. The firm remained a family business operating under the name Smith and Co. and in the 1860s, following a fire which destroyed the Fell Street site, moved to 128-132 Borough High Street, Southwark, where it remained until 1974.
Samuel Smith made the firm's products more medicinal in character. For a short time a factory operated in Messina, Italy producing liquorice but this along with the home production of spices and jams had all ceased by 1914.
Contracts with the Armed Forces kept business going during the Second World War and products such as 'Altoids' ensured the firm's continued success. In 1948 Smith and Co. became a limited company under the name of Smith Kendon Ltd. The additional name was simply an amalgam of 'Ken' and 'Don', the names of the two Smith brothers. In 1974 the firm moved from the Borough High Street to Brigend, Glamorgan. In the same year Smith Kendon was presented with the Queen's Award for industry. The company is now owned by an American firm, Beatrice Foods, but products can still be bought under the traditional Smith Kendon name.
Repository
Archival history
GB 0074 ACC/3085 1729-1969 Collection 0.83 linear metres Smith and Co x Smith Kendon Ltd , manufacturing chemists and confectioners
The origins of Smith Kendon can be traced back to 1780 when William Smith set up business producing confectionery in Fell Street in the City of London. The firm remained a family business operating under the name Smith and Co. and in the 1860s, following a fire which destroyed the Fell Street site, moved to 128-132 Borough High Street, Southwark, where it remained until 1974.
Samuel Smith made the firm's products more medicinal in character. For a short time a factory operated in Messina, Italy producing liquorice but this along with the home production of spices and jams had all ceased by 1914.
Contracts with the Armed Forces kept business going during the Second World War and products such as 'Altoids' ensured the firm's continued success. In 1948 Smith and Co. became a limited company under the name of Smith Kendon Ltd. The additional name was simply an amalgam of 'Ken' and 'Don', the names of the two Smith brothers. In 1974 the firm moved from the Borough High Street to Brigend, Glamorgan. In the same year Smith Kendon was presented with the Queen's Award for industry. The company is now owned by an American firm, Beatrice Foods, but products can still be bought under the traditional Smith Kendon name.
Deposited in 1992.
Records of Smith Kendon Limited, manufacturing chemists and confectioners, 1729-1969, including records relating to property owned by the company, particularly in Borough High Street, Southwark, Lambeth, Saint Pancras and Islington; legal documents relating to the administration of the business including bonds and agreements; financial accounts; and two recipe books: 'Smith's Drop Book' and 'Smith's Pellet Book'.
In sections: ACC/3085/001-126: Property records; ACC/3085/127-150: Business records; ACC/3085/151-152: Recipe books.
Available for general access.
Copyright rests with the depositor.
English
Fit
Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
Further records of Smith Kendon Ltd at ACC/2522 and B/SK.
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
July to October 2009 Scientific personnel Scientists Chemists Pharmaceutical chemists Articles of partnership Business records People People by occupation Personnel Industrial personnel Manufacturers Financial records Law Legal documents Information sources Documents Deeds Pharmacology Drugs Confectioners Food industry personnel Property ownership Civil law Legal systems Company archives Property Smith and Co x Smith Kendon Ltd , manufacturing chemists and confectioners Property law
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Deposited in 1992.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Records of Smith Kendon Limited, manufacturing chemists and confectioners, 1729-1969, including records relating to property owned by the company, particularly in Borough High Street, Southwark, Lambeth, Saint Pancras and Islington; legal documents relating to the administration of the business including bonds and agreements; financial accounts; and two recipe books: 'Smith's Drop Book' and 'Smith's Pellet Book'.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
In sections: ACC/3085/001-126: Property records; ACC/3085/127-150: Business records; ACC/3085/151-152: Recipe books.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Available for general access.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright rests with the depositor.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
English
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Further records of Smith Kendon Ltd at ACC/2522 and B/SK.
Finding aids
Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English