Tallow Chandlers

On a recent visit to Ashby-de-la-Zouch, a place I’ve been going to for nearly 50 years, albeit rather sporadically, I discovered that quite a lot had changed!! On this particular occasion, I made a few poor choices … I usually park up by the crematorium and the converted water tower, but on the day I arrived, there was a funeral taking place, and the road was packed with cars.

I found somewhere else to park, and walked around some areas of Ashby I’d not been to before, which was fine, and I managed not to get lost! I did accidentally happen upon the old railway line, so that was quite pleasing. However, I hadn’t anticipated that Wednesday would be half-day, or in some cases, all-day closing, so some of the cafes I have been going to for years were closed.

Hunting for somewhere open for a cuppa, I wandered down Mill Lane Mews, an area which was once burgage plots (a rented long and narrow strip of land), but which had been converted to properties in a yard, back in the 18th century. It was only in the late twentieth century that the buildings along this little lane were converted into shops.

I chose what looked like a familiar café that I might have been in before, but once I stepped in, it looked completely different – a new owner, a new deli counter, and a few walls removed to make one large space. But what were those nails sticking out of the black beams (and now, how I wish I'd asked if I could take a photograph!!)?

So, back in the early 19th century, one Thomas Orme lived and worked in this property: he was a tallow chandler, and the nails in the beams we where he used to hang his candles from, as they were often made in pairs, and could be hung as such by their wick. Thomas lived with his wife Dorothy, and children Thomas (c.30), Abraham (c.25), George (c.15), Dorothy (14), and Edward (10). In 1851, journeyman chandler Thomas was still in the property, although his wife had died, and he was living with some of his children. By 1861, the tallow chandler living in the property was George Simms, aged 45, with his wife aged 40, and his children Catherine (13), Thomas (11), Hannah (4), and Guy aged 6 months.

I haven’t traced the people living in the building before 1841 nor after 1861 because this is about Ashby, and the blog is about Loughborough, and it would take me too long! However ...

Tallow chandlers have been the focus of some of my research into Loughborough over the past couple of years, and there are a couple of sections in my latest book, ‘Loughborough At Work’ relating to them. Here are a couple of snippets from the book:

From Chapter: Early local apprenticeships and trades

“Mary Sheppard, the daughter of Samuel Sheppard, was apprenticed to Samuel Withers, a master tallow chandler, in 1681. Whether or not Mary went on to make and sell tallow candles is not known. The work of the tallow chandler was hard and most unpleasant, as the tallow used to make the candles came from animal fat, which had been mixed with water, boiled, and then pressed to extract the tallow. The resulting candles when burned would smell dreadful, would fill the area with black smoke, and the wicks needed to be regularly trimmed. Candles made using beeswax didn’t smell unpleasant, were quite easy to roll, but were expensive, and so were the preserve of the very wealthy. Candles would also have to be stored securely, as the animal fat would attract vermin!”

From Chapter: Framework knitting, dyeing, and other occupations

“Tallow chandlers

Around 1763, John Toone of Loughborough, was apprenticed to Thomas Lord, a bootmaker. Apprenticeship completed, in 1785 John Toone was now a tallow chandler in Loughborough and had taken on John Bates as an apprentice. John was listed in the 1792 trade directory, alongside Thomas Toone, as a tallow chandler, but by 1802, when he took on two apprentices - Richard Nicklinson, and James Cumberland - his trade was listed as grocer. This is credible, as he would need to sell any candles he made, but this also reflects the nature of trade directories, recording and listing trades and occupations differently. John Toone may have died around 1818, as a trade directory of 1822 lists a Mary Toone as a grocer and tallow chandler, in Biggin Street, and a William Toone as a grocer, hop merchant, and tallow chandler, also on Biggin Street. Mary and William are also listed in the directory under tallow chandlers, along with John Chapman, another tallow chandler on High Street. So, the Toones were still making and selling candles, but in addition were also selling other provisions. In 1828, they also appeared to be tea dealers, but by 1841, Mary and William were no longer listed, and in their place was one Joseph Toone at Baxter Gate: John Chapman was, however, still listed.

An 1846 directory tells the same story, but by 1849 while Joseph was still a grocer and tallow chandler on Baxter Gate, John Chapman was simply listed as a grocer, but at two properties, one on High Street, the other on Baxter Gate. In 1854, Joseph Toone was listed as a tallow chandler, and John Chapman had just the one grocery shop on High Street.

Although around the late 1700s oil lamps, with their circular wick, provided a brighter light than candles, it wasn’t until the end of the eighteenth century that lighting was provided by gas. However, while the wealthy began to illuminate their homes with gas lighting, the poorer people still relied on tallow candles. 

Neither the Toone nor the Chapman family appeared in the 1861 trade directory, but three other tallow chandlers were listed: Edward Spreckley on Bedford Square; John Vice Stevens on Baxter Gate, and Frederick Thirlby on Biggin Street. Stevens and Thirlby also appeared in an 1863 trade directory, but the 1876 directory listed no tallow chandlers, preferring to classify the two men as grocers. This changes in 1877 when Thirlby no longer appears, Stevens was a grocer and tallow chandler at 7 Baxter Gate, and Arthur Ball was a grocer, tallow chandler, and hop merchant at 1 Biggin Street. In 1892, Stevens, still running his grocery shop, was the sole remaining tallow chandler, which by 1908 was run by Robert Stevens Crane. This was the last time a tallow chandler was mentioned in the trade directories. A sign of the times, perhaps, that gas lighting had now become more common and more trusted, and the use of electric lighting was beginning to dominate: subsequent trade directories (1912, 1925, and 1928) list initially A. & E. Thompson, and then Walter Dakin as incandescent dealers at 56 and then 56-7 Mill Street.”

Tallow chandlers are, of course, just one of the occupations that are covered in the book!

By the way, if you happen to be looking for a place to eat in Ashby, I found the old tallow chandlers to be a lovely place – now called Lil Bo’s Deli 

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

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