So, High Heaton Sainsbury’s was once a nationally recognised confectionery brand – the name of which has all but disappeared. Anyone still recognise Cremona?

This was once a big sweet factory named Cremona Park. You can gauge the site using the cemetery and Henderson Hall on the 1930s aerial shots below with its towering chimney, which was once a local landmark.

When it opened in 1920 the area was semi-rural and was the only industrial complex on the lane. They’d previously operated over at Sunderland from 1908, founded by Albert Schlock Wilkin, but probably moved here with incentives given by the mooting of the new Coast Road and the Benton Road industrial zone. It was noted as a garden factory, as huge efforts were made to uphold a high degree of working conditions and quality of the product.

Cremona’s specialty was toffee, and despite tough trading conditions after opening they blossomed in the park thanks to their modern and innovative branding. They became very well known for their tins with intricate paintings and illustrations. It helped them become instantly recognisable, and by the 1940s they had expanded next door and cemented themselves as a well-known name nationwide.

Thanks to his services to the city, the founder Albert received a knighthood and became chairman of what became Newcastle Uni. He sadly died in 1943 as a freeman of the City of London and an effective Newcastle statesman.

The factory remained here well into the ’50s, but despite international favour the dominance of the larger companies saw its death knell. By 1961, the site was being used as a garage.