page_title: Wright's Biscuits
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Wright's Biscuits / History
caption_attribution_description: Wright's Biscuits being transported to and from the factory. Photograph taken by Turners Photographic of Newcastle. Wright’s Biscuits was a well known company in South Shields, South Tyneside. Set up as a maker of biscuits, they started out by supplying their stock to ships in 1790, but after a fall in demand, Wright's turned to making more up-market biscuits. Wright's Biscuit factory closed in 1973. Turner’s was established in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1900s. It was originally a chemists shop but in 1938 become a photographic dealer. Turners went on to become a prominent photographic and video production company in the North East of England. They had 3 shops in Newcastle city centre, in Pink Lane, Blackett Street and Eldon Square. Turner’s photographic business closed in the 1990s. Ref: TWAS: DT.TUR/2/891/j (Copyright) We're happy for you to share this digital image within the spirit of The Commons. Please cite 'Tyne &amp; Wear Archives &amp; Museums' when reusing. Certain restrictions on high quality reproductions and commercial use of the original physical version apply though; if you're unsure please email archives@twmuseums.org.uk. To purchase a hi-res copy please email archives@twmuseums.org.uk quoting the title and reference number.
context_page_description: Wright's Biscuits were established in 1790 by L Wright & Son. In the 1930s they implemented intensive factory methods for production and became a national supplier of biscuits, cakes and groceries as well as a leading employer for Tyne and Wear.
  Children's illustrator Mabel Lucie Attwell created the Wright's logo, a curly-haired boy called Mischief. The Mischief Club existed for children with members getting a collectable badge.
context_section_description: Wright's Biscuits was established in 1790 at Holborn in South Shields to produce ships' biscuits.
  After a fire in 1898, completely new buildings were created at Tyne Dock.
  The Second World War saw day and night production for the Army. Around 300 employees, mostly women, worked shifts around the clock.
  The organization became a public company in 1936. At the first AGM, the company was described as "commenced from nothing only four years ago".
  In 1962 J Lyons took control of the Wright's Cakes factory with Wright's Biscuits considering national van sales of cakes to no longer be sufficiently profitable. In the same year Wright's Biscuits bought Kemp Biscuits from Scribbans.
  By 1966, due to the losses by Kemp Biscuits Ltd, the growth of Wright's Biscuits was hampered.
  In 1972, United Biscuits took over Wright's Biscuits, Kemp Biscuits Ltd and Carr's Carlisle making it part of the giant Cavenham Foods group. In October 1972 the company was put into administration and the factory finally closing in 1973.
  The factory was reopened in 1975 under the name of Lowe's for the production of dog biscuits. This ran until 1983 at which time the factory and the chimney (a landmark for Tyne and Wear Dock area) were demolished.
caption: Packing Wright's Biscuits destined for Rangoon and Hamburg c.1940s
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