After Eights tin, Nestle Rowntree, 1990s

After Eights tin, Nestle Rowntree, 1990s

Collected in 2017

A grandfather clock shaped tin with green, gold and black design and a grandfather clock design on the front stopped at eight o clock

For over 40 years Castleford was the home of the famous After Eights. The workers at the Rowntree factory on Wheldon Road made over a billion of the mint chocolates every year. The factory closed in 2012.

There is a long history of sweet-making in Castleford. Joseph Bellamy opened the first sweet factory in Queen Street in 1899. Bellamy’s was famous for French Almonds, Mint Imperials and Pontefract Cakes.

In 1964 the Halifax sweet company Mackintosh bought Bellamy’s. Then in 1969 Mackintosh merged with York’s Rowntree sweets. The new company built a new factory on Wheldon Road next to the Queen Street factory. They began making After Eights there.

An After Eight is a thin square of sugary peppermint with a layer of dark chocolate over it. They were created by the leading Rowntree developer Brian Sollitt in 1962. His secret process for making them meant the peppermint middle didn’t melt until after the chocolate covering had dried.

This tin is in the shape of the brand's well-known clock logo. From the beginning After Eights were advertised on TV as a luxury for smart dinner parties. This was very successful and for a long time they were Britain’s most popular mint chocolate.