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[edit]The product was originally made in the still-standing 'Moreland's Match Manufactory' in Bristol Road, Gloucester by S. J. Moreland and Sons, who became a subsidiary of Bryant and May in 1913,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.[2] 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.[3]
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.[4] (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.
- ^ "Matches – House of Swan". Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ "Stereophonics | Stereophonics Shocked Name Was Unique | Contactmusic.com". www.contactmusic.com. 2011-11-07. Archived from the original on 2014-09-19.
- ^ "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.