Crawford's

Crawford'sis abrandofbiscuits.
It started as a Scottish baker ofship's biscuitsin a public house onThe Shore, Leithin 1813.  The bakery was acquired by Robert Mathie in 1817 and then William Crawford in 1856, when Mathie retired.William Crawford & Sonsestablished large factories inLeithandLiverpoolso that, at its peak, it was one of Britain's largest biscuit manufacturers and claimed to be its oldest.  The company was acquired byUnited Biscuitsin 1960 and is now a brand within their portfolio.
In 1856, William Crawford (1818–1889) bought an established bakery at 31The Shore, Leithfrom Robert Mathie (1789–1863). The bakery specialised inships' biscuitsand had been established in 1813,with Mathie taking it over in 1817.
Crawford wished to expand the business and set up a retail outlet at 14 Leith Street (which linksLeith WalktoPrinces Street) in 1861, relocating to the exclusive address of 2Princes Streetin 1866. In 1879 they built a large purpose built factory on Elbe Street in Leith.The Elbe Street factory was served by its own railway siding. A second factory premises was built in Leith on Anderson Place in 1947 (it is now in use as a creative hub).
William's eldest son, William Crawford (1858–1926), became a partner of the business in 1880 and expanded it further. It was then known as Crawford and Sons.
In 1897, two younger brothers, Archibald Inglis Crawford and James Shields Russel Crawford, were sent to establish a subsidiary in Australia.  They got as far as the major English port ofLiverpoolin England where they established a major new factory.This huge factory, the Fairfield Works, stands on Binns Road and was designed by their brother, the architectAlexander Hunter Crawfordin 1895, taking two years to build.The Liverpool factory was highly mechanised, allowing creation of more elaborate biscuit designs, in particular theCustard creamwhich promptly became one of Britain's most popular biscuits.The Fairfield factory made snack bars including Bandits, Penguin, and 54321 chocolate.
In 1927 Crawfords were one of the first factories to provide employees with their own social club and sports facilities: at Sandown Hall in nearbyWavertree.
In 1938, Crawford's carried out the first ever British national biscuit survey, interviewing approximately 5,000 households.
United Biscuits, formed in 1948 from two Scottish companies,MacFarlane LangandMcVitie & Price,acquired  William Crawford & Sons in 1960 for £6 million.
Production processes were automated in the 1960s.
The Elbe Street factory was expanded and modernised in the 1950s but demolished in the 1990s when housing in Leith's former industrial areas started to change the area. Around 200 people lost their jobs.The closure in 1996 was cited as a casualty in the Scottish "bread wars".
McVities have struggled to maintain the Scottish factories for their iconic Scottish brands.
In 1923, the company advertised several biscuit varieties which commemorated royalty and its marriages:
Their range then included a variety of popular biscuits includingshortbread,cream crackers,digestivesandginger nuts.
The brand now includes:
Historically, some of Crawford's biscuits were sold in decorativebiscuit tins.In 2007, a Crawford biscuit tin was sold for £15,600 atBonhamsin the form of a sports car and was reported to be the most expensive tin sold until that date.