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Relish in checking out historical archive
IT'S a modern twist on an age-old favourite.
Some businesses were destined to fail in infancy - while others grow old and go from strength to strength.
Take our very own Henderson's Relish.
The origins of the Sheffield company are detailed in 'The UK City and County Directories, 1677-1946' - which you can now check out online for the first time.
The directories - which can be viewed at ancestry.co.uk - record how Henry Henderson first began manufacturing the black gold in the late part of the 19th century.
Originally made at 35 Broad Lane, Henderson's Relish has been in uninterrupted production ever since, within half a mile of the site from which the first bottle was filled.
The company, which is now based in Leavygreave near Sheffield University, was bought by Shaws of Huddersfield in 1910.
In 1940 Charles Hinksman formed the present company of Hendersons (Sheffield) Ltd, the control of which has remained with the family ever since.
Dr Kenneth Freeman, the nephew of the late Charles Hinksman, became the managing director and chairman in 1991.
There have been changes - but not many.
Nowadays Henderson's - once unknown outside the city - is sold in shops as far afield as Rotherham. In short, it's ours, and we're keeping it.
The ancestry.co.uk website details more than 7.8 million tradesmen, businesses and VIPs spanning 250 years of the UK's history.
The directories highlight how trade has evolved over the years, with individual listings varying from the standard occupations of the day such as chimney sweeps and dressmakers, to more unusual roles such as leech importers, beast preservers, and weapons dealers.
The collection contains volumes from every county in Britain and many cities including Sheffield.
For example, Pigot's 1828-9 Directory for Yorkshire names Sheffield as 'the ancient seat of the cutlery manufacturers' and describes the 'beautiful valleys… with a range of romantic hills in the perspective'.
The directory also notes Sheffield was 'much celebrated for the manufacture of iron heads for arrows' when archery was popular in England.
Olivier Van Calster, managing director of ancestry.co.uk, said: "This collection of directories is unique in that they cover 250 years of UK's social and commercial history and include many famous names that can still be found on the high street today.
"Because the collection spans most of the UK, just about everyone will be able to discover something of relevance, whether it's what their ancestors were doing hundreds of years ago or how their hometown has changed across the centuries."
Many other names that still dominate our high streets today can also be found in the lists.
The first shops of Charles Henry Harrod - Harrods - and of John Cadbury and William Henry Smith - WH Smith - are all included in the UK directories, as well as the first Marks & Spencer, Dixons, and the late lamented Woolworths.
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