The ‘Ringtons man’ was a happy sight for housewives in the early part of the 20th century. It meant that they could get fresh tea (one of most perishable of dried commodities, which can quickly lose its aroma and flavour) delivered direct to their doorstep. Founded in 1907, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne by Samuel Smith and William Titterington (the company name was formed from the ‘S’ of Smith and ‘…rington’ from Titterington), a single horse and cart distributed tea from the Byker area of the city. In 1914, Sam Smith took control of the firm, buying his partner out, and it grew into a major undertaking, with his sons, and eventually grandsons, managing the business.
The outbreak of WW1 meant that many company employees were called up, as Britain's formerly professional army grew rapidly. In 1918, the 12 surviving servicemen came back to their jobs. Some housewives prefered their tea delivered by real horsepower, but the company bought their first two motor vehicles in the early 1920s.
In 1939, the company saw its ranks depleted, once again, with the outbreak of WW2. This time over 400 employees joined the Services, including all four of Sam's grandsons. Despite having to take ALL its motor transport off the road in 1943, due to fuel shortages, the firm continued to thrive, by bringing horse-drawn vans back out on the road!
Ringtons Tea tends to be prefered in the northern half of the British Isles, with the current distribution area including the whole of Scotland, the North of England, and down as far as East Anglia. Over 280,000 customers are served, door-to-door, and a sales force also deals with bulk supplies to restaurants, hotels, and select stores such as Marks & Spenser supermarkets. My mother enjoyed a cup of Ringtons, as do I; indeed, I have a supply of their ‘Original’ blend tea bags in my office, today! I must admit that my mother would be amazed to find that I had bought the tea in a supermarket in Durham, rather than from a door-to-door salesman (although that is still possible, along with coffee, chocolate cookies and other items).
Here we can see a Ringtons delivery van, which was last used by the company in 1977, and then was donated to Beamish, the Living Museum of the North, in County Durham where it is now on display. You can see the marriage of technologies, as the traditional spokeshaved wheels no longer have iron rims but are fitted with hard rubber tyres, instead. Despite this ‘new technology’ , and the semi-elliptical springs, the ride quality for the driver, over the mostly cobbled roads, must have been harsh. The delivery van is still sometimes used around the 300 acre museum site with drivers in period dress.
The company is now a 'fifth-generation business', and the latest members of the family are expanding from their custom-built factory in North Tyneside into online sales worldwide. As for the Ringtons horses, the last one, Monty, was given honourable retirement in 1962!
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