A Modern Marvel – A Revolution in Sweet Stuff – “Sugar, Spice And All That’s Nice,”

January 1895

Mexborough and Swinton Times, January 25th 1895

A Modern Marvel
A Revolution in Sweet Stuff

The allegation that there is nothing new under the sun is completely out of date for the bald-headed old fable receives fresh contradiction every day of our lives. What is there that is not new, startlingly new, in the triumph of mind over matter culminating in such an achievement as that of boiling water in six seconds and the conversion of the plain everyday sugar of commerce into eatable sweet stuff within eight minutes from the commencement of the operation, the whole being done, not as one would imagine by the aid of a furnace outrivaling an inferno or with any accompanied by fuss, furry, uproar, and immense labour, but within a minimum amount of labour, little noise, little machinery, little heat, and scarcely any noise or bustle?

In the first place, it sound well-nigh impossible to boil or anything else without direct contact with fire, yet this apparent impossibility has ben achieved, and we have seen a substance hissing and bubbling and emitting great clouds of steam at a distance of not less than 20 feet from the nearest fire of coals or wood, and actually about 20 feet from the fire producing this wonderful ebullition. The age when the kettle can be boiled in the breakfast room by means of the heat from the kitchen fire downstairs has arrived and this marvellous conveyance of forces can be accomplished without the least dirt, disorder, or difficulty.

Is there nothing new under the sun when the inventive geniuses of man can turn the voices of nature inside out without violation or contradiction of any of the nature’s laws? Is there nothing new under the sun when this modern marvel that we have to describe is in existence, and no further away from ourselves than the quaint little town of Conisborough, where mildewed and decayed, exist the relics of the works which in their time the rude forefather of the hamlet deemed all wonderful and grand? Mr. B. J. Clarkson, of Conisborough, is one of those men who, by virtue of his occupation, holds a high place in the esteem of the younger generation of this locality for he is a manufacturer of

“Sugar, Spice And All That’s Nice,”

As the nursery rhyme puts it. We recently had a tour through his premises at Conisborough where all the delicious danties with which is name is associated are manufactured, and where the modern marvel stands at work. We were taken into the sugar boiling house first where an unpretentious apparatus of burnished copper was pointed out to us. We were asked if we would believe by its means water could be boiled in six seconds, and we laughed. Then Mr. Wm. Clarkson asked us to half fill the copper pan with cold water, and we satisfied ourselves that it is cold and that there was no hidden deception in the pan bottom, no chemical substance that might produce a hissing or bubbling without heat. Then Mr. Wm. Clarkson turned a couple of taps, and Heigh presto; in an infinitely shorter time than it takes to write the water was boiling like fury and throwing off cloud of steam that set all doubts at rest. Now how was it done? In the first place, there was a big boiler of ordinary pattern in an adjoining chamber, the function of which is to generate steam. By means of pipes the steam is carried to the copper boiling pan, which is constructed in a simplicity and ingenuity that are in themselves marvellous. The interior of the pan is bell-shaped, in fact of exactly similar shape to that of an ordinary washhouse copper. But at the bottom of the pan there is a coil of copper tubing. Through this steam is driven at such a high pressure that the tubed rapidly become heated and boil the water contained in the pan. But the rapidity with the requisite degree is reached is accelerated by a further pressure of steam driven through the jacketing of the pan, the boiling pan being thus internally and externally heated.

The ease with which the cold liquid is transformed into a hissing, seething, Steaming, and turbulent quantity is an important a feature as the rapidity of the process, the operator has no trouble. He turns a tap and the insignificant simple looking apparatus does the rest. There is no standing over a glaring roasting fire, no incessant shovelling in of coal, no blowing of bellows, no raking of ashes, no perspiring, no exhaustion, no nuisance of any kind like that attacked to the forge of furnace, where after all a less intense and less effective heat is attained. And the apparatus that does all this attends in no more room than a drawing room easy chair would occupy. Mr. Clarkson was determined that we should see the modern marvel properly at work, and so a young gentleman in a white apron was instructed to manufacture a quantity of sweet stuff in our presence. About 40lbs. of white sugar was put in the pan and sufficient water added to boil it. Then the steam taps wear turned on, and in six second the water and sugar was boiling, throwing up miniature wavelets of scalding hot stickiness. The contents of the pan were boiling for about five and a half minutes. When the whole of the whole of the water that had been added was boiled off and nothing remained in the pan but a thick white liquid. This was poured off into two other copper pans and was poured out again onto a slab to cool. In another minute the operator in a white apron was kneading the mass like so much dough, adding tartaric acid and lemon to flavour it. In another minute long strips of the material where being ground through a machine like a miniature mangle the rollers of which formed the mould for the sweets, and half a minute later the first strip so treated was cool enough to be broken up, and we tasted an acid drop which eight minutes before had been so much simple white sugar, a rapidity of transformation which would have been impossible without the aid of the patent boiling pan of William Brierly, of Rochdale, which it will be granted we have rightly styled a “modern marvel.”

We had a long talk with Mr. B. J. Clarkson, Mr. Wm. Clarkson, and Mr. Geo. Clarkson, who by the way is the manager of the great bake house, about which we should talk presently. From the 40lbs of sugar used in the process we had just witnessed about 56lbs. of white acid drops had been manufactured, and the Messrs. Clarkson estimate that this one boiling pan, allowing for all stoppages, and taking into account the difficulty of dealing with each boiling pan quickly enough to keep pace with the boiling pan, they will be able to manufacture about 30 ctws. Of sweet stuff a day, or a quantity sufficient to last a small boy who could eat a quarter of a pound every day of his life, for 36 years 10 months and an odd day or two.

Messrs. Clarkson intended to place an entirely new sweet stuff before the public very shortly. They will call this “Bes Clarkson’s butter scotch,” and they estimate being able to manufacture about a ton of this a week. We were permitted to sample some of this delicacy, and found the flavour quite equal to that of the best Doncaster butter scotch. Messrs. Clarkson having been trying to maintain this flavour for years, and have only just succeeded, their success being entirely due to the new boiling pan erected on their premises, the old system of boiling over a fire having been too long a process and resulting in the destruction of the flavour. The new system of boiling, without a doubt, will work a revolution in the art of sweet stuff manufacture. We walk through the bake house next. This is a spacious and airy apartment walled with white tiles and scrumptiously clean, a vivid contrast to the old underground bakeries, fever breeding pestilential spot where forsooth was made and article that people had to eat. The bake house contains four large ovens, patented by Anderson, of Doncaster. Each of these will bake 36 stones of bread at once, and we were informed that more often than not they were all full. In addition to this immense quantity of bread which is equivalent to five tons eight cwts. Per week, or 3,356 4 lbs. loaves, a tremendous quantity when one consider that the average human being only regard bread as the staff of life when he cannot get beef or mutton, a large quantity of fancy bread and pastry is manufactured. Mr. George Clarkson, who takes a justified pride in the completeness and effiency of the bake house, told us that Messrs. Clarkson bake about £80 worth of pastry every week, and about 20 stones of pork pies. During the week proceeding Christmas the bake house staff had a busy time of it. In addition to their usual heavy task of bread baking, they produce about 500 Christmas cakes and nearly 6 cwt. Of pork pies-a colossal week’s baking at any rate. Messrs. Clarkson- it is not surprising to learn, after hearing of the quantities of food they manufactured- have four large vans constantly out in the district, each requiring a pair of horses, while they employ about 15 horses in various parts of their business, which includes a butchering and grocery business at New Denaby. We were shown the slaughter house, where an unusual degree of cleanliness is maintained, and we finished up the tour of inspection in the engine house, where there is a powerful perpendicular steam engine supplying the power required in the various departments of this flourishing enterprise.

Messrs. Clarkson had recently required the business of Messrs. Hawksworth, in Church street, Conisborough and will continue to carry on the business of bakers, pastry cooks, and confectioners on Monday night, with a view to commemorate the introduction of the new system of sugar boiling into the business, Messrs. Clarkson gave a supper to their employees and a few friends. In all about 70 people sat down to a capital spread, which was served in the bake house, transformed for the nonce into an excellent and comfortable doing hall. The supper served was an excellent one, and was cooked in the premises under the superintendence of Mrs. Richards, of Rotherham everything being put upon the tables was done to a turn.

The menu included roast beef, roast mutton, roasted veal and ham, boiled mutton rabbit pie, plum pudding, tipsy trifle, blanc manages and jellies At the conclusion of the repast Mr. B. J. Clarkson, after expressing the hope that the whole of the company had enjoyed themselves, said they were present to commemorate the fact that they had recently started boiling by steam power, and he wanted them all who were connected with the firm to do their part to keep it going, because they would be able to turn about 30 cwt. a day, and it would need every connection with the work to do their best to keep pace with the work which the boiler to the bottle washer (laughter) because it would not matter how well the stuff was made, if it went out in dirty bottles it would not do the reputation of the firm. The least bit of good. (Hear, hear) He wanted every one of them to feel that they had a responsibility for some part of the work upon their shoulders because the success of the undertaking, as a whole, depended upon each one. They had gone through some hard times but they have managed to keep their heads above water up to now. (Applause) He had no fault to find with anyone or anything in the past, and he should like all to take the same interest in the new style of working that they had shown in the past and make it go ahead, so that instead of having to revert to the old system they would have to get another boiling pan or two, and have another supper or two to commemorate the introduction that could be done if they all tried their best. (Applause.) He had much pleasure in inviting all those who had not seen the new apparatus to witness the new boiling that he had arranged would take place. The company then adjourned to the new boiling house where the new boiling pan was put through its paces and about and about half a hundred weight of sweet stuff was manufactured in a few minutes even with the amateur assistance of several curious spectators who were permitted to lead a hand in a process decidedly novel to them.

At the conclusion of the experiment the company went back into the bake house where the tables were loaded with refreshments and desert. Mr. Mark. Clarkson of Braithwell took the chair, and the most harmonious evening was spent with music and dancing, the enjoyment terminating shortly before one o’clock on Tuesday morning. Songs were sung by Mr. Morris, “Bricks and mortar”; Mr. J. Lumley, “Bad-win’s ascension”; Mr. Dellow, “I couldn’t,” encore “Don’t brethren don’t”; Mr. George Clarkson, “England is ready” : Mr. Hugh Dellow, “Quite English you know,” encore, “kill aloe” ; Me. Morris, “The old canteen” ; Mr. George. Clarkson “The dear little shamrock” Mr. Lumley “Monte Carlo” Mr. Mark Lawton, Mrs. Dove, and Mr. W. P. Turner kindly officiated as accompanists, and Mr, Wylde and Me. H. Marshall played the violin for dancers, Before breaking up Mr. B. J. Clarkson’s Health was enthusiastically drunk with musical honours.