Did William Armitstead eat Kendal Mint Cake?

My gg grandfather was born in Kendal Westmorland in 1815 and lived in Kendal Westmorland until the early 1850s before moving to Preston Lancashire. Having heard about Kendal Mint cake when Bill Oddy appeared on “Who do you think you are?”  I was intrigued to see if William might have eaten it.

Now judging from an advertisement in Westmorland gazette Dec 20 1890, John Court professes to have established his business in 1822 as confectioner, sugar boiler, bread and biscuit maker. This advertisement promotes plain and fancy biscuits in great variety, funeral biscuits and brides’ cakes made to order and of course he is the manufacturer of the Original Kendal Mint Cake as supplied to General Gordon. (Siege of Khartoum 1885) Others have suggested that if Gordon hadn’t died at the siege it may have been called “Gordon Mint cake”

So perhaps William ate sweets from here but from Wikipedia, supposedly Kendal Mint Cake became about from a mistake in the making of glacier mints by Joseph Wiper in 1869. (1)

Therefore, it looks likely that William would not have eaten Mint Cake in Kendal.

In 1847 a branch line from Kendal to Windermere joined up with the Preston to Carlisle line (2) so railway transport was available from Kendal to Preston. Was this the way William & family travelled to live in Preston? Did Kendal Mint cake also travel to Preston on the train? Wouldn’t it be nice to know if William and family ate Kendal Mint Cake in Preston.

 It was certainly getting around by 1898. 

From an advertisement in the Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette Jan 15 1898 Joseph Wiper and Sons at Exhibition Stand No. 118 claimed  to be sole makers of Gold Medal Kendal Everton Toffy, Original Kendal Mint Cake,  only makers of K Brand which included K Butter tablets, K Mint Rock, K Cream Butters, K Honey and butters. They had branch shops in Sunderland at 306 High St, 11 Crowtree Road, 194 Roker Avenue, in Kendal at 78 Stricklandgate, in Lancaster in 6 Brock St, in South Shields in 9 Ocean Road and the Steam Works were in Ferney Green, Kendal.

From Wikipedia it is stated that Daniel Quiggin from the Isle of Man started making Kendal Mint Cake in 1880 and Romney’s started in 1918.  Romney’s Kendal Mint Cake was requested by Edmund Hillary’s team to take to their successful conquering of Mt Everest in 1953.

In 1987 Romney’s bought Wiper’s Mint Cake from Harry Wiper who had inherited ownership when his father Robert Wiper died in 1960.

Unfortunately, the Wilson factory that started in 1913  sold out in 2015 to McClures  and then closed in Feb 2016.  McClures had moved to making other sweets as their main products but still advertised Mint Cake before they closed.

In 2016 while visiting the UK, Kendal Mint Cake was being touted as the energy bar to take hiking.

Fast forward to 2019 and just started up on 20 May 2019, Kendal Mint Co. sells for today's energy market. Their new Kendal Mint Cake not only has sugar, glucose, water and peppermint oil but includes electrolytes and vitamins – how times change.
So I ate Kendal Mint cake bought in Kendal in 2016. Gg grandfather William you sent me on a mission to see Kendal. I hope you managed to get some of the Mint cake while you lived in Preston.

1.    

2.      (1)  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendal_Mint_Cake

            (2)   https://www.british-history.ac.uk/n-westmorland-records/vol8/pp17-21

Laws Family Items carried across the world.

William and Sarah Laws and 4 children arrived in Brisbane in 1868.
There were various stories about why William left the employ of his Uncle William Camper  in the Camper shipyard  at Gosport Hampshire in  July 1862.

Silver cup 

Citation

So one branch of the family has the silver cup and citation that the workers at the shipyard gave him when he left. It states-

To Mr. William Laws

Respected Sir,

We are glad to see you here amongst us this evening to have the opportunity of expressing to you, on the one hand, our feelings of regret as far as ourselves are concerned, that you have left the place and position, which you have for so many years, so faithfully held as the Foreman  of our employers, Mr Camper: but on the other hand, we cannot but rejoice to find you starting in a  business we think, very likely with your well known perseverance and integrity to prove a successful one. And rest assured Sir, you leave us with the best feelings of every man and boy (some of whom you have known since childhood) and nothing will please us better than to hear you are prospering in your undertaking.

As a mark of the respect the whole of us feel for you, we now beg your acceptance of this silver cup & we heartily wish you every blessing, may your business prosper & may yourself, your wife & children enjoy health & happiness.

Signed on behalf of the employees of Mr. Wm Camper    I Nobes, T Goodall

Where did he go next? His son Ernest Albert was born on the Isle of Wight in 1864 and further evidence is provided by the  copies of 2 contracts that he signed for the construction of 2 yachts in his own shipyard on the Isle of Wight in 1863 and 1865. The one in 1863 was for Paul Artis Esq. of Portsmouth for a ship of 35 tons and would cost £265. The one in 1865 was for Courtnay Philipps Esq. of Brighton for a yacht of 75 tons.

Ship's compass

Another branch of the family has inherited a ship's compass with a lovely story attached. This story was told by Percy Murray Laws Snr. to his son.
" When my father passed away  at the age of 82 years on the 15 th July 1911 my father's wish that the compass be passed onto the senior male of this  Laws family. It came into my possession on his passing. Percy Murray Laws jnr.
William Laws borne 1829  This compass was given to William Laws by a Prussian Prince ( name unknown) who brought his yacht from Germany for repairs to the Camphour and Nichols boat yard England on or about 1854.Camphour was his uncle and he W Laws was foreman of the yard and was responsible for the repairs. Mr Camphour died in 1866 and through some deceitful work of the part of some person, when the will was read neither Mrs Camphour nor  W Laws, my grandfather received nothing. This shocked my grandfather(W Laws) and he decided to mygrate to Australia. At the age of 38 years in the year 1867.
This was told to me  (K Laws) by my father Percy Murray Laws jnr. it being left to him by his father."
As you can see by the citation  above we have, some of this tale is not quite right.
It intrigued me about the will so I bought a copy of the will of William Camper( note the correct spelling of the name) who died 8 February 1863.  Mrs Camper had died in 1851 so she definitely would not inherit anything from the will. His three daughters Mary Ann, Susanna and Amos( Amy) inherited most of the personal wealth. There was no mention of the shipyard in the will. However in the newspaper there was an advertisement  in the Hampshire Telegraph 31 January 1863 ( just 8 days before he died)
as follows:
Notice is hereby given that WILLIAM CAMPER of Gosport in the County of Southampton, has this day DISPOSED OF and ASSIGNED his business of a ship and yacht builder carried on by him at Gosport to MR BENJAMIN  NICHOLSON( foreman to him for many years), and in the future the Business will be carried on by the said Benjamin Nicholson on his own sole  account, on the same premises as heretofore, under the name of "CAMPER & NICHOLSON"
Gosport 24th January 1863
So was the deceitful act done in 1862 to make William leave the shipyard?  I guess we will never know.

A  shot gun was presented to Br Wm Laws P C R by the Brother Foresters and friends as a Mark of  Esteem and Respect Gosport Novr. 1867 just before they left from London in December 1867.

From Michael Langham: My Dad Les always told me of the story of Frank always having a shotgun loaded in the tent while he was away on his trips on the railway construction, just in case he ever needed some protection in a hurry. 

I have Frank's shotgun now, it was presented to Frank by the Forrester's Lodge in Gosport when he left to come to Australia in 1867. 

The shotgun is still in good working order, the maker's name was " HAIG" it is a 10 Gauge muzzle loading shotgun, it came with two bullet moulds, they were to cast different size solid lead round balls. One is for a large round ball, the other casts a smaller one approx 1/4" diameter, a number of the smaller balls would be loaded at one time usually about 9 or 10. 

I have used it on many occasions, there is a oval silver plaque on the side of the stock of the shotgun with an inscription on it.

  

His Foresters Regalia was also brought to Australia but was last seen in the 1980's. Anyone seen it since please?
Below are other items handed down in the family.

 William's clay pipe

 William's clay pipe in case

Sarah's bag probably used for storing her brush & comb

Clay pipes were probably made by Sarah's family as they were clay pipemakers in Fareham Hampshire.

Sarah's Hymn Book given to her in Dec 1851and then given  to Frank Goodall Laws in Jul 1905

The brooch that Sarah is pictured wearing in this photo was handed down to Lillian's family

Do other members of the family have  any other items?  It is interesting to see what has lasted the test of time.