England's Glory
England's Glory is a brand of non-safety matches, available in the United Kingdom, using a celebrated image of a Victorian battleship, HMS Devastation.
History[edit]
The product was originally made in the still-standing 'Moreland's Match Manufactory' in Bristol Road, Gloucester by S.J. Moreland and Sons, who became a subsidiary of Bryant and May in 1913, although full ownership by Bryant and May only came in 1938.[1]
Consolidation of match production within Great Britain led to Bryant and May's matches being made at Garston in Liverpool, London and Glasgow. England's Glory then became a brand for matches made at Bryant and May's Garston factory which were sold mainly in the North of England and the Midlands.[1] The matches made in Glasgow were marketed in Scotland as Scottish Bluebell matches.[1]
Bryant and May themselves ceased to exist in the 1980s, but England's Glory and Scottish Bluebell branded matches have stopped being manufactured in Sweden by the company Swedish Match (https://houseofswan.com/products/matches/#matches-range ) The modern England's Glory matchbox design is, however, not the previous design, which used to have jokes on the back, submitted by members of the public. One example was: 'A visitor to London, annoyed a cabbie by boastful comparisons of English and American buildings. When they reached the Thames, the American said, "Driver, what's that trickle?". Cabbie, "Heavens! My radiator has burst!"
Popular culture[edit]
The public house "England's Glory" in London Road, Gloucester is named after the matches.[citation needed]
The song "Senses Working Overtime" by XTC contains the spoken phrases "England's Glory" and "A striking beauty", the latter being a slogan associated with "England's Glory" matches.
The Macc Lads wrote a song called "England's Glory" referring to the matches.
The Welsh band Stereophonics took the lyric 'It only takes one tree to make a thousand matches but only takes one match to burn a thousand trees' for their hit song A Thousand Trees from the back of a box of England's Glory matches.[2]
Various re-issues of English pub-rock performer Ian Dury's 1977 album "New Boots and Panties" contain a live version of his composition "England's Glory".
Namesake[edit]
On 7 November 1881, the ship England's Glory was wrecked off Nelson, New Zealand, by getting too close in while waiting the arrival of the pilot.[3] (See List of shipwrecks of Oceania).
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Beaver, Patrick (1985). The Match Makers: The Story of Bryant & May. London: Henry Melland Limited. ISBN 0-907929-11-7.
- ^ contactmusic.com
- ^ "WELLINGTON". Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald And General Advertiser. Vol. XXII, no. 3002. Queensland, Australia. 8 November 1881. p. 3. Retrieved 27 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.