Horse drawn transport loading at the Clarnico Factory Hackney Wick c1900. This was the original factory that was severely damaged in the blitz.
The confectioner Clarnico is synonymous with Hackney Wick. The company, also known as Clarke, Nickolls, Coombs until 1946, arrived in Hackney Wick in 1879 and made and imported sweets and chocolates. Most of the staff were girls and when they got married Clarnico’s gave them a small gift of money, called a ‘dowry’. They also gave bonuses to good workers and the factory had its own brass band and choir. Despite being taken over by Trebor Bassett (they in turn were taken over by Cadburys) the name lives on in Bassett's Clarnico Mint Creams and also in the CNC Property company. Just after the second world war, Clarnico was the largest confectioner in Britain but moved further across the Lee to Waterden Road in 1955 where it survived for another 20 years.
