John Illingworth left the company in 1867 to devise Illingworth Snuffs Ltd. In 1869 he moved premises, and decided upon a location very close to his then competitor Samuel Gawith. For approximately a hundred years the manufacturers worked agreeably, until Illingworths was destroyed by fire in the early 1980’s. The company then continued in Kendal for a few more years, before it was bought up.
Henry Hoggarth went on to become Gawith Hoggarth, which is still in business today along with Samuel Gawith; founder of the famous “Kendal Brown.” Both still manufacture snuff and export around the world and it stills sells in selected tobacconists in Britain.
With three manufacturers of snuff stemming from the same company and all of them producing in the small Lake District town of Kendal, the development of snuff became a very intimate and secret affair. However it is said that there was no hostility between the three companies. No matter how close the competitors were to each other, all parties had a great respect for one another. There was no back-biting or spying. In fact, when Illingworths burnt down in the 1980’s, the first to offer help were the other two companies.
Hard to believe when you consider that some snuffs were remarkably more popular than others, and therefore provided more business.
The secrecy of manufacturing Snuff
To make sure each company kept its place in the market, the manufacture of snuff in each mill was encased in a bed of secrecy. This enabled the professional relationships to continue, and trade secrets to remain secret. Employees would have been sworn to secrecy and never shown the full recipe; ensuring the mystery surrounding the blend of snuff remained intact.
An old copy of Samuel Gawith and Co’s “Guide to Snuff,” states.
“Secret recipes and methods are handed down from generation to generation, and the blending of the raw material to obtain the desired colour, flavour, texture and aroma is work for which both a natural aptitude and years of experience are required.”
So the secret to blending the famous “Kendal Brown” stays with them, to be passed on to oncoming generations for as long as it is required. And how long that is, no one is quite sure. The uses for snuff in today’s climate are very different to that of the 18th century.