Peek Freans Bermondsey
 The Peek Frean biscuit factory provided Bermondsey and Rotherhithe with a major source of employment until it closed in 1989 and for decades the area was known as Biscuit Town.
James Peak and George Hender Frean started manufacturing biscuits at a bakery in Mill Street, Dockhead but when it became too small for their needs, they found an area of market gardens in Bermondsey and built a new factory in 1866.
The Franco-Prussian war of 1870 brought the company to prominence, when ten million ‘fine navy biscuits’ were ordered for the troops. Celebrated lines invented by Peek Freans include the Garibaldi (1861), Marie (1875), Chocolate Table (the first chocolate coated biscuit in 1899) and the Bourbon (1910). With the cocktail age came Cheeselets and Twiglets in the 1930s.
The company pioneered the supply of medical, dental and optical services to their staff as well as founding clubs ranging from athletics and cricket to music and drama. Staff magazines including The Biscuit Box and PF Assorted also brought together a workforce which numbered 4,000 by the 1940s.
What our voters think
Peek Freans was on my way to school, each morning, walking along Drummond Road it would be a guessing game. "What was being made today"? Sweet or savoury? In summer the doors of the factory would be open and you could see the people in white aprons packing the biscuits. The sight, the sound and the smell, it was Bermondsey! Gary Magold, Bermondsey
"When I was a child we used to get boxes of Peek Freans broken biscuits from time to time, I guess that was in the 70s early 80s. It was so exciting to open a box, it held the same thrill as Christmas morning for me!" Melanie
"This was an internationally-renowned company, which provided valuable employment for many local people (including my mother). I still remember leaving for work some mornings when the wind was in the right direction and smelling the distinctive aroma of the biscuits baking. Peek Freans deserves to be honoured with a blue plaque for all this." Garry Wiles
"I lived in Plumstead Common and would see the large letters of the biscuit company name on the wall of their building, as I travelled on the train to and from London. I now live in America and still crave PF biscuits and can't have a cup of tea without PF Shortcake, McVities Rich Tea or Arrowroot! How could you not give recognition for such a successful, credible company that offered a livelihood for so many working class in SE London?" June F Clark
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