Fruitfield & Lambs

TheScribbler

Hi There,

I wonder if anyone with an interest in things nostalgic might be able to help me. I'm researching the history of Lamb Brothers who used to have a factory at Bluebell/Inchicore and I am trying to trace old labels and photographs associated with Fruitfield Jams and Marmalades from the 50s and 60s, when it was still run by the Lamb family.

Has any kind person got any images lurking in an attic somewhere?

Thank you

TheScribbler

Hello Again

I'm posting this second message in the hope of 'increasing' the thread ratings. I'm doing a paper on the history of the Fruitfield and Lambs brands and wonder if anyone may have copies of any old photographs of products, labels or even pictures of bus side advertisements for Fruitfield and Old Time Irish Marmalade that they used, or even images of delivery trucks.

Before the business was acquired by Jacobs Fruitfield it was owned for a time by Nestle and the brands were incoroprated with those of Little Chip and Chef. However up until the mid 1970s it was run as a family business adn the factory was based outside Inchicore at Bluebell.

Anyone living in the area that worked for Lamb Brothers may have some treasures stuffed in an old biscuit tin somewhere. I hope so and i would love to hear from you.

deadhead13

You have probably already come accross this....

http://www.somethingirish.com/hre-lj03.html

Fuzzy Clam

Theres probably plenty of them around, but I've a couple of old (empty) 1 LB and, I think, 2 LB jars here. Fruitfield Varsity Marmalade. Not glass, sort of glazed pottery with printed black writing.

TheScribbler

Indeed Varsity was their most expensive marmalade. It was produced in 1lb and 2lb stoneware crocks/jars which were sealed under some kind of muslin cover. 7lb crocks were also supplied to the baking and catering industry but it was quite expensive.

If you can capture a good digial pic of it, this would be most helpful, thank you

TheScribbler

Deadhead

Thank you for drawing this to my attention. Indeed I have one of these which is a reproduced copy of a showcard that was usede to promote the brnad in old fashioned grocery stores (before supermarkets arrived and eroded corporate personality).

Thank you

Fuzzy Clam

TheScribbler wrote: »

Indeed Varsity was their most expensive marmalade.

My Mum must have only bought the best:)

If I can figure out how to upload pics, I will do that tomorrow.

TheScribbler

Your mother clearly had excellent, if expensive, tastes. But if you can upload an image I will look forward to it.

Fuzzy Clam

Having a bit of trouble linking to the images
See if this works


Whey hey!

TheScribbler

Those are brilliant, now if only they were full.......

Bean123

I used to work for Lamb Bros (Dublin) ltd and know about their cousins factory in Richill Co Armagh as well as their three fruitfarms in Barley Hill and Fonstown Co Kildare and Beaverstown Co Dublin.

There are at least 3 of the founders grandchildren still alive

Contact me if interested

TheScribbler wrote: »

Hello Again

I'm posting this second message in the hope of 'increasing' the thread ratings. I'm doing a paper on the history of the Fruitfield and Lambs brands and wonder if anyone may have copies of any old photographs of products, labels or even pictures of bus side advertisements for Fruitfield and Old Time Irish Marmalade that they used, or even images of delivery trucks.

Before the business was acquired by Jacobs Fruitfield it was owned for a time by Nestle and the brands were incoroprated with those of Little Chip and Chef. However up until the mid 1970s it was run as a family business adn the factory was based outside Inchicore at Bluebell.

Anyone living in the area that worked for Lamb Brothers may have some treasures stuffed in an old biscuit tin somewhere. I hope so and i would love to hear from you.

TheScribbler

Re your note, I too used to work with them in 60s & 70s and have written an historic digest of the firm with input from two of them but trying to get suitable images is proving difficult. Can you help at all?

If you want to contact me privately I would love to hear from you.

Thanks

Bean123

I assume because of your address u worked at Richill, I would love to contact u privatly, please let me have a contact.

I worked at Bluebell from 1972 until it closed in 1980 and transferred to Nestle.

Regards

TheScribbler

Hi Bean123, I've sent you a private message if you check your Private Message box (top right of your page)

cecy

hello - by sheer coincidence i've just started gathering information about the fruit growers / pickers in north Meath/Cavan who supplied Lamb Brothers in the fifties and sixties and even later in some cases. I haven't got a lot as yet but would be very interested in staying in touch.

Bean123

Yes Please do keep intouch as u progress your project.

TheScribbler

Indeed that could be very interesting

Bean123

Hi Cecy,

You may have seen this already but if not you may find it interesting, regarding Damson Jam it was out of stock for many years in the 1970's due to lack of supply but then we got some from Wexford I think and when turned into Jam it sold out in record time.

Anyway keep in touch

www.drumconrathparish.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=231&Itemid=128

Please confirm receipt of this message

Regards

Bean

cecy wrote: »

hello - by sheer coincidence i've just started gathering information about the fruit growers / pickers in north Meath/Cavan who supplied Lamb Brothers in the fifties and sixties and even later in some cases. I haven't got a lot as yet but would be very interested in staying in touch.

cecy

Hi Bean
Thanks for that; I'd like to stay in touch, I'm just starting off - lots of questions. I wonder what happened to the Barley Hill/ Drumconrath crops during that time. Do you know where in Wexford the damsons were coming from? Another question I have - how did they remove the stones from the damsons when they were making the jam? and (finally) is the factory gone altogether now?

Thanks
cecy

TheScribbler

Cecy

Just intercepting your note. Doubtless Bean123 will fill you on Barley Hill etc. However the business and the brands were acquired by Nestle (via Keillors) back in the late 70s and production ceased at Inchicore/Bluebell. However the Fruitfield and Old Time Irish brands were linked with Little Chip and other foodstuffs and manufacturing was relocated within Dublin

However the brands were bought out by some entrepreneurs a couple of years back and recombined with Jacobs to form Jacob Fruitfield, based out of Tallaght. However you may be aware that production proved to be uneconomic and while the brands are actively marketed in Ireland, they are now made elsewhere.

It is sad in many ways as it represents the end of an era.

TheScribbler

TheScribbler

Just realised how many 'Howevers' I wrote there!

Bean123

Cecy,

Thanks for reply, I am never quite sure if my messages are getting there.

I have no idea what happened to the Barley Hill Damsons during that period but they were not with Lambs. Again I only think they came from Wexford as a lot of soft fruit came from there as it did from Co Meath.

Before being turned into Jam the fruit was "cooked" and sieved to remove the stones and the stones were sent to their own farms as manure.

The business was sold in 1980 to Nestle (Williams & Woods) in Tallaght, Co Dublin but they quickly discontinued making Jams other than Strawberry Raspberry and Blackcurrent.

The real reason for Nestle buying the business was to get the marmalade business of Old Time Irish Coarse Cut and Fine Cut. That production has since stopped and all marmalades are now manufactured in UK but I think the jams are produced in Drogheda but not sure.

A point of interest and I do not know the answer is that Lamb Bros had a fruit farm near Moone Co Kildare and it was called Barley Hill Farm - I wonder is there a connection.

Anyway keep in touch

Bean

DLAMB

Hi Scribbler I am a Lamb grandson and I enclose a picture of my Grandad in the early days of Lambs Bros (Gilbert Courtney Lamb) he was the scientist and a brother of Wilfreds. My farther Richard Lamb has a number of old labels and pictures, I am sure he would have no problem showing them to you and having a chat. Contact me if you are interested - I look forward to hearing more about your project.
Kind regards

TheScribbler

Thank you I will send you a private message

Bean123

Cecy

See advert from 1920's where it says they get fruit daily from Co Meath, may be of interest to you.

TheScribbler

That adv is a real gem. I've never seen it before. The mock jar is interesting as the label doesn't confirm to any of the style conventions we came to expect from the company from the early thirties onwards.

collector

theres a fantastic photograph in newbridge house of fruit pickers from lambs.i also have a few stone jars from them theres is one jar i have had for ages and always wonder what it was for i found out today its a ginger jar from fruitfield farm.

Bean123

Hi Collector

Thanks for that, I will go out to Newbridge House some day and have a look.

I assume the stone jars you mention are the same as the ones in the photos in an earlier message.

Is there any chance of seeing a photo of the Ginger Jar, does it say Fruitfield on it.

Hope to hear from you soon.

collector wrote: »

theres a fantastic photograph in newbridge house of fruit pickers from lambs.i also have a few stone jars from them theres is one jar i have had for ages and always wonder what it was for i found out today its a ginger jar from fruitfield farm.

collector

hi,b123 its basically a earthen ware jar and the fruitfield label would be stuck on to the side .see picture below

Bean123

Thanks for photos, yes the jars are Fruitfield, one from each of their factories i.e. Dublin and Richhill co Armagh.

The other two are ginger jars but I have never seen them in the Fruitfield range, they did sell crystallised ginger in box's but I never saw Stem Ginger in jars. Where did u get the information that they were Fruitfield?

Again many thanks

collector wrote: »

TheScribbler

Hi Collector

I agree with Bean123's comments. I have no recollection of any Fruitfield stem ginger being offered in such jars. From the photograph they don't appear to be capable of being sealed to hold the liquid fast and uncontaminated unless the lid is held fast within a wire shroud.

By way of interest I lived in the US some years ago and my wife acquired a number of similarly shaped ginger jars from a Chinese merchant in San Francisco that were used to house small quantities of dry ginger from China and were imported by the local Oriental restaurant and bakery trade. As the jars were non returnable they were frequently sold on for domestic use. They ranged in size from around 1lb weight up to 1cwt (I kid you not) but I am sure their gross weight was much higher than that as the stoneware was unusually heavy. The bigger ones were often highly decorated and looked like the sort of things you might see in 'Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves.' We have one that is used as a flower pot.

Coming back to Fruitfield for a moment I was unaware that Lamb's drew damsons from Wexford but they may have contracted them locally. Damsons are a notoriously fickle fruit to grow. They benefit from high rainfall such as might be experienced in western and northern counties and are tolerant of low levels of sunshine but they require well drained soil. Crop yields can be variable with many trees not bearing fruit until quite mature and even then they often don't fruit every year.

The sieving process is much the same as for other prunus fruits but damsons are often quite reluctant to be parted from the fruit. I know this because I grow damsons at my home in Bangor and make jam with them.

Bean123

I will visit Newbridge House in the coming weeks and will come back to you on this subject.

collector wrote: »

i was in newbridge house yesterday and there was labels with the ginger jars on them which was a supprise to me,i would,nt say they were used just for fruitfield alone though.

emerald girl

DLAMB wrote: »

Hi Scribbler I am a Lamb grandson and I enclose a picture of my Grandad in the early days of Lambs Bros (Gilbert Courtney Lamb) he was the scientist and a brother of Wilfreds. My farther Richard Lamb has a number of old labels and pictures, I am sure he would have no problem showing them to you and having a chat. Contact me if you are interested - I look forward to hearing more about your project.
Kind regards

Hi DLAMB,

It would appear we are realated as I am a great granchild lamb

emerald girl

emerald girl wrote: »

Hi DLAMB,

It would appear we are realated as I am a great granchild lamb

Joy Lamb was my Granny, who was Harold Lambs daughter. She owned the land up in Rathfarnham that the fruit was picked on for about 30-40 years I'd say.

I ran around that place for 10 years, best days of my life and also down in Wexford where the lambs owed too. This might be where the other fruit was picked from.

The Scawgeen

Derryglad Folk Museum Curraghboy Athlone is run by the Finneran family, you can find the phone number online. They may have some of the items you're looking for. It's about 6 years ago since I was there and they had no problem with photographs being taken. Good luck with your work.

Scawgeen


www.derrygladfolkmuseum.com

Just added this link there seems to be some photographs on the site you may see jars, just a long shot. A quick phonecall and you'll know for sure.

Bean123

Hi.

I worked with Harold Lamb and your great uncles, Douglas, Edmond and Charles and met Joy a few times.

Have you any pictures of the farms or factory in your family archive?

smarie

DLAMB wrote: »

Hi Scribbler I am a Lamb grandson and I enclose a picture of my Grandad in the early days of Lambs Bros (Gilbert Courtney Lamb) he was the scientist and a brother of Wilfreds. My farther Richard Lamb has a number of old labels and pictures, I am sure he would have no problem showing them to you and having a chat. Contact me if you are interested - I look forward to hearing more about your project.
Kind regards

Hi DLAMB was looking for photos of the old days of your dads company my mam worked there in the sixties she has some of the girls sitting outside the factory you could show your dad thanks smarie:)

Bean123

Hi Smarie,

My mother also worked there at that time - would love to see the pics as I might know some as well as I was there from 1973 to 1980.

Look forward to hearing from you

Cardinal Richelieu

Great thread. Did Lambs sell the business directly to Nestle? Or was there an owner in between? I seem to remember hearing Butterly Green at one time had a share in Fruitfield.

My mother remembered a lady who worked on the Lambs Donabate Fruit farm who lived in Rush. The lady in question would use the railway bridge of the Dublin-Belfast line to get across Rogerstown Estuary to and from work. But she had a mortal fear that the railway bridge would break under her added weight that she would cross it slowly on her hands and knees everytime:D

Bean123

Hi Cardinal

I assume you mean "Butterly's" of Artane. Never heard of them having a share but in the last 5 years Lamb's did subcontract Butterly's to can their strawberries for them.

The business was sold direct to Nestle (Williams & Woods in Tallaght)

Cardinal Richelieu

Bean123 wrote: »

Hi Cardinal

I assume you mean "Butterly's" of Artane. Never heard of them having a share but in the last 5 years Lamb's did subcontract Butterly's to can their strawberries for them.

The business was sold direct to Nestle (Williams & Woods in Tallaght)

Same people, there actually from Rush not Artaine. Didn't Nestle sell the business on? To Jacobs Fruitfield which then sub contracted manufacture to the UK?

Bean123

Yes their from Rush but their Jam and Canning Factory (Scotts) was in Artaine - Stardust Site.

Nestle sold the brand in a management buy in to Fruitfield - that company later took over jacobs to become Jacob Fruitfield who in turn sold the business last year to Batchelors (valeo Foods).

Old Time Irish marmalade is now made I believe in Portugal and the james in the UK.

Cardinal Richelieu

Bean123 wrote: »

Yes their from Rush but their Jam and Canning Factory (Scotts) was in Artaine - Stardust Site.

Nestle sold the brand in a management buy in to Fruitfield - that company later took over jacobs to become Jacob Fruitfield who in turn sold the business last year to Batchelors (valeo Foods).

Old Time Irish marmalade is now made I believe in Portugal and the james in the UK.

Premier Foods Histon. Quite sad that Jacobs Fruitfield under Irish management subcontracted nearly every Irish product they had abroad before selling the brands on.

Bean123

Yes, Premier Foods who also manufacture Chivers jam's amd marmalades, Chivers was sold a few weeks ago to Boyne Valley Honey.

Jacob's Fruitfield has no option but to transfer production overseas as they no longer had cheap raw materials - No sugar refined in Ireland anymore - No glass jar production in Ireland - its fruit supply was gone - all blackcurrants grown in Ireland are sold to Ribina!!!

The transfer of production also meant that "Golden Shred" marmalade was no longer sold in Ireland by Premier as it would have effected the sales of Old Time Irish.

Bean123

If you look at Dublin.ie you will get more threads on lamb's Jam Factory

http://www.dublin.ie/forums/forumdisplay.php?62-Drimnagh-Inchicore/page2&order=desc

Also look under Ballyfermot

http://www.dublin.ie/forums/showthread.php?11023-Lamb-s-Jam-factory-Bluebell

Over 30,000 hits between them!!!!

Degsy

Bean123 wrote: »

Yes their from Rush but their Jam and Canning Factory (Scotts) was in Artaine - Stardust Site.

.

Wasnt there a Scotts farm in Nth Dublin near Balgriffen?

Bean123

Check these out - anybody recognise anybody

The visitors are from the USA

http://irishphotoarchive.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/1957-25-07-Lambs-Jam-Factory-Inchicore/G0000qUzsS4hW.KM/I0000HQR9Zt6lSQo

catljDouglas

Bean123 wrote: »

I used to work for Lamb Bros (Dublin) ltd and know about their cousins factory in Richill Co Armagh as well as their three fruitfarms in Barley Hill and Fonstown Co Kildare and Beaverstown Co Dublin.

There are at least 3 of the founders grandchildren still alive

Contact me if interested

I've found this forum as I've found photos in my grandmother's family archive of members of the Lamb family. Which means it sounds like I'm related to Emerald Girl and the three grandchildren of the Lamb Brothers. My grandfather Kenneth Douglas was a Quaker as well, although I never knew him. His parents were Annie Douglas (Chapman) and Sinton Douglas and I have a few photos of them when they were older as well as one when they were young.

I'll send you a private message, cheers.
Cat Douglas

edenlamb

hi, don't know if this will be any help but i am Charles Benjamin Lamb (founder of Lambs jam) great grandchild and have been doing a lot of research into my families history. Let me know if i can be any help!

eskerman

Very interesting thread and topic - I'm originally from Churchtown and Lamb Brothers owned all the land where Nugrove Shopping Centre is and as far as I can remember it was called Fruitfield - I remember picking fruit there when I was young - wonder if there are any others that remember this place and are there any photos of Nutgrove Avenue or Churchtown from that period

I went to De La Salle brothers in Nutgrove and Hughes Brothers dairy was directly opposite the school - in those days milk was delivered by horse and cart and then the battery operated milk floats

I'm now feeling quite nostalgic and some old photos or contacts from that time would be very nice

Paul

alicmcg

cecy wrote: »

hello - by sheer coincidence i've just started gathering information about the fruit growers / pickers in north Meath/Cavan who supplied Lamb Brothers in the fifties and sixties and even later in some cases. I haven't got a lot as yet but would be very interested in staying in touch.

Hi Cecy
i just stumbled across this thread its would be of huge interest to me if you had any information of fruit suppliers to the lamb bros, my Grandparents were one of these suppliers in meath, we spent every summer picking fruit as kids and they employed many locals too. i know it has been quiet a while since this thread was posted i really hope someone replies.
thank you :-)