Victory V factory, Nelson

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iBase ID

240342

Reference identifier

ENE20121002001

Title

Victory V factory, Nelson

Place

Nelson

General notes

Victory V is a British brand of liquorice-flavoured lozenges. Originally manufactured in Nelson, Lancashire, they were devised by Thomas Fryer and Edward Smith MD in 1864 and were initially made by hand to ensure that each sweet contained the correct amount of therapeutic ingredients; ether, liquorice and chloroform.

In 1959, a film was produced by Red Rose Films called The Story of Victory-V, documenting the production of Victory V lozenges and other products of the Nelson Victory V factory.[2]

In the 1960s they acquired the Alverthorpe firm of A.Talbot and Son. Victory V lozenges are available in specialist shops and online, but no longer contain chloroform or ether. However, their scent and flavour is still vividly reminiscent of diethyl ether - presumably recreated via artificial means to preserve the original flavour. Today they are manufactured by Ernest Jackson & Co. Ltd. in Crediton, Devon.

Photograph shows the Victory V factory yard with the factory in the background. Original inventors of the Jelly Baby and the Victory V cough sweet, the factory was demolished in 1988 and houses have been built on the site.

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