Ellis Wilkinson Mineral Water Manufacturer, founded in 1852, at South Meadow Street,
Preston
Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to:
Places
England
*Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement
**The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement
**County Boro ...
, Lancashire, United Kingdom.
The
mineral water trade was once a thriving industry in Preston, the largest manufacturer of which was Ellis Wilkinson, who first began making mineral waters at the same time that
Matthew Brown was making his home-brewed ale at his small Pole Street, Preston, Brewery. Ellis and Matthew were friends who began making drinks together.
In addition to supplying local shops, Wilkinson's also agreed to supply Matthew Brown's growing number of pubs with minerals and also facilitated the production of drinks for
Vimto in their early days of trading.
Ellis Wilkinson's first wife died in childbirth. His second wife was a strict
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
from the USA and she played a prominent part in running the mineral water business.
Banking services in those days were limited and one of her tasks was to collect the roundsmen's cash. She stored the gold sovereigns in a bucket beneath the bed of their home, Ribbleton House, which stood in its own grounds near Gamull Lane.
Mixing the mineral water fruit essences in the early days was a skilled job but later they installed a carbonating and bottling plant. In 1928 the firm became a limited company with Wilkinson's four sons as the directors. Wilkinson's had an extensive range of drinks on their portfolio which were popular throughout the
North West.
In addition to manufacturing pop, Wilkinson's were also chocolate and sweet wholesalers, which were made on site. Wilkinsons's also supplied tea and wine. At the peak of their trade they employed about 40 people.
In 1967 Ellis Wilkinson's merged with T. and R. Smith's soft drinks of
Chorley
Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...
who had already been taken over by
Garfield Weston.
Other former local mineral firms who were already part of this group were Clayton's of Chorley, Medico of Blackburn, St Annes Mineral Waters and Turner's of Chorley.
In 1969 change was still in the air and T. and R. Smith's was taken over by J. N. Nichols (Vimto) of Manchester.
Director and general manager of the Chorley concern since 1967 was Ronald Wilkinson who was the Grandson of Ellis Wilkinson the founder of the former Preston mineral water business.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, Ellis
Companies established in 1852
1852 establishments in England