‘Flaming biscuits dropping out of the sky’: How Bermondsey became known as the Biscuit Town

Thousands of homes are set to be built on the Bermondsey Biscuit Factory site – a historic 12 acre patch of land once home to the Peek Freans Biscuit Factory.

Founded in 1857, Peek Freans was a symbol of Bermondsey’s industrial past and played a central part of Bermondsey life, employing thousands of families through the generations.

The sweet smell of sugary treats would stream from the factory and roll through the streets, earning the neighbourhood the fairytale nickname “Biscuit Town”.

As well as a delightful local history, Bermondsey’s biscuit factory is tied to the rise of the modern biscuit industry and the creation of many well-known biscuit brands sold across the world.

Believe it or not, the Bourbon, shortcake, Garibaldi, Marie, and Chocolate Table all began their lives in Bermondsey.

So where did it all begin ?

In 1857, tea importer James Peek took over a former sugar refinery on Bermondsey’s Mill Street.

The company soon acquired Mr Peek’s nephew-by-marriage, George Hender Frean, and was later joined by John Carr – of Carr’s water biscuits.

Until this time, biscuits were closely related to hunks of sawdust with a consumer base mainly made up of sailors for their gruelling ocean voyages. 

But, Peek Freans dreamt of confectionary: sweet, light alternatives that sparked a revolution.

First came the Pearl, followed by the Marie, and then shortbread-based Pat-A-Cake – and everybody was hooked.

That is not to say the business did not have its mishaps. Peek Frean’s experimental board had their fair share of disasters – in the form of seafood Twiglets and a Cream of Tomato biscuit.

But eventually, their recipes hit the jackpot with a custard cream, bourbon, Garibaldi and best of all, the chocolate covered biscuit.

From 1861, Peek, Frean & Co. Ltd began to export biscuits to Australia and by 1870 the business received an order from the French Army for 460 tonnes of biscuits to fill the ration packs supplied to soldiers fighting the Franco-Prussian War.

But, on April 23, 1873, the old factory burnt down in a spectacular fire.

“There were reports of flaming biscuits dropping out of the sky in Peckham and Camberwell”, Gary Magold, curator at the Peek Freans Museum once said. 

The commotion was so extraordinary, even the Prince of Wales, Edward VII, came out in a London Fire Brigade horse-drawn water pump to view the scenes of destruction.

After the blaze, Peek Freans relocated to nearby Drummond Road. 

Here, it found itself locked between a manure company and a tripe boiling works. Faced with the dilemma, Peek Freans’ bought out both – a business monopoly at its finest.

The biscuit factory remained in Drummond Road until 1989, when it was closed down and demolished.

The closing down of the factory in Bermondsey was the subject of the 1988 documentary film Old Ways New Ways made by independent filmmakers Sands Films, directed by Olivier Stockman.

Left derelict for a long period, the former premises were eventually redeveloped into a business complex which has now been marked for a huge residential development.

Even so, Frean Street – named after the company’s co-founder – still remains near the former factory site, as a reminder of the area’s sweeter history.

Pictured top: Peek Freans biscuit advertisement from 1891 by Thomas Benjamin Kennington (Picture: Wikimedia Commons)