Kendal Snuff

Gawiths and Kendal are synonymous with snuff manufacture. 

Snuff is essentially dried tobacco leaves ground into powder and blended with essential oils and essences. Snuff sniffed into the nostrils as an alternative to smoking tobacco. A pinch of snuff is placed on the back of the hand or between the finger and thump and sniffed, the word “snuff” imitating the sound of the sniffing. 

Snuff taking goes back at least to the 15th century and probably much earlier, when native Indians were seen taking tobacco in this way through a hollow tube. A convoy of merchant ships was captured by the English off the coast of Spain during the war of Spanish Succession and the cargo included snuff. Most of this found its way back to the coffee houses in London where celebrated doctors and other nobles took up the habit. Whilst not appreciated today, tobacco was credited as being a universal ‘cure all’ and snuff was often sold in apothecaries. 

By the 18th century Kendal had become the major snuff manufacturing centre in Britain. Tobacco from North America was brought in to west coast ports close to Kendal, such as Whitehaven, Workington and Maryport. Kendal already had a nationwide woolen trade as well as tanning, leather and shoe trade so the town had a good network of transport routes and facilities. Overtime much of the tobacco trade was lost to Glasgow but Kendal still had the distinct advantage of being on the pack horse route to England from Scotland and the town became a staging post. 

Due to the jostling nature of the panniers carried by the pack horse trains, much of the tobacco leaf would be broken up to dust and stalks by the time it reached Kendal. Local traders could then buy this dusty tobacco at nominal rates for snuff production. 

Kendal’s river and tributaries made it an ideal location for water powered mills and in the 17th and 18th century there were over 40 water driven mills in the Kendal alone and three of these were snuff mills. 

In 1790 Thomas Harrison from Kendal, grandfather of Samuel Gawith the first, travelled to Scotland to learn how to make snuff and a couple of years later arrived back in Kendal with the famed ‘Kendal Brown’ recipe and equipment and knowledge to make snuff. This was the start of the Gawith snuff enterprise. 

The House of Samuel Gawith was founded in 1792 and the snuff-making machinery brought back from Scotland installed in the old water powered mill, just outside of Kendal. The first snuff produced was the famous “Kendal Brown”, which remains one of the most popular 230 years later. The term ‘original’ was put on the label after many other companies started to try and copy the famous blend, but Samuel Gawith created and produced the first and original Kendal Brown snuff. 

Later on when brothers, Samuel and John Edward Gawith dissolved their tobacco manufacturing partnership in 1878 and Samuel opted to retain the snuff grinding mill, he built the Kendal Brown House, named after the famous Kendal Brown snuff. As the years passed, Samuel Gawith expanded into pipe tobacco and also cigarettes and cigars for a short period. 

The company prospered and saw an increase in demand during World War 1, particularly for snuff, meaning that by 1918 Samuel Gawith was ready to expand. A new factory was built on Sandes Avenue in Kendal, opening in 1920 and all the machinery from the Mealbank mill was moved there, now to be powered by electric and not water. The Kendal Brown House continued to house the offices, packing department and was where much of the tobacco and snuff was finished.  

In 1930's Samuel Gawith's expanded further, taking over the Penrith based tobacco firm of Messrs William Nevinson, who had their snuff machinery in an old mill at Eamont Bridge. The tobacco business and other premises were not kept but the mill was kept for snuff production so that Samuel Gawith had two snuff production sites – one in Kendal and one in Penrith.  

But the late 1930's were difficult times for smaller tobacco firms as cigarettes became more popular and larger tobacco companies gave away coupons to persuade people to buy their products. As a consequence, Samuel Gawith decided to concentrate only on snuff production and to bring all the production under one roof. The Kendal Brown House was expanded and in 1937, Samuel Gawith closed down the mill at Eamont Bridge and vacated the factory at Sandes Avenue, once again dismantling and re-assembling all the machinery at the Kendal Brown House. 

In the 1920’s Samuel Gawith made some 65 different brands of snuff including Doctor Verey’s, Golden Glow, After Glow, Mastiff and of course variations of the Kendal Brown. 

Whilst Samuel Gawith did branch out into pipe tobacco production again, making some loose tobacco and twist, snuff remained the pride of the company and in the 1980’s they were still making 57 different varieties. A number of their more popular snuffs are now also produced as pipe tobaccos, topped with the same flavourings such as FireDance and Celtic Talisman. 

At the same time as Samuel Gawith was producing snuff at their mill on the north side of Kendal. Gawith Hoggarth & Co had purchased a watermill on the edge of the south side of Kendal, where snuff was ground until 1991. Once carrying an  exceptional range of over 40 snuffs, today Gawith Hoggarth & Co still produce a small selection of their most famed and traditional snuffs. These are available in 25g round tins or in 10g plastic tap dispensers and include CM snuff, one of the long time market leaders in mentholated snuffs. 

After Gawith Hoggarth took over Samuel Gawith in 2015, there still remains 18 different Samuel Gawith snuff blends, available in 10g dispensers or 25g vacuum sealed round tins.