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| B y David Figg (BMCC HLM #4) |
IN SEARCH OF JOHN WALKER –
INVENTOR OF THE FRICTION MATCH
Most
people these days have heard of a “bucket list”, a list one prepares of things
they want to see and do before they proverbially “kick the bucket” so to speak.
My
list includes a visit to Antarctica, not a fly-over but on a cruise ship but as
it is very expensive, I am still saving up for the trip. One thing I have
crossed off my list, is a visit to Stockton-on-Tees in England to visit the
location of the Chemist shop once owned by John Walker, famous for inventing
the friction match.
This
was in 2001 when I was able to dovetail a holiday in with attending a computer
conference and a Match Club Fair. A trip to Stockton-on-Tees found the High
Street and the location of his chemist shop at 58 High Street where a plaque on
the wall (Figure 1) stated that he set up his “Chemyst” and Druggist shop in
1819, some 8 years before he invented the friction match of which he is so
famous. Figure 2 shows how the shop would have looked in 1819 (see also
addendum for more information).
His
formula was potassium chlorate, sulphide of antimony and gum arabic. A piece of
fine sandpaper was included in each box. Herbert Spencer called his invention
the greatest boon and blessing to come to mankind in the 19th
century. Unfortunately, John Walker did not patent his invention which was
snapped up by another match entrepreneur in Richard Bell as acknowledged by his
match label of 1832 (Figure 3).
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| Richard Bell Specimen - Figure 3 |
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| Sign on John Walkers Grave - Figure 4 |
Not
content with finding the location of the shop, I sought out the cemetery with
the assistance on a local to see the site of his burial and gravestone. At the
graveside was the inscription (Figure 4) which indicated that the gravestone
had been replaced in July 1972 and moved to the Preston Hall Museum, Stockton.
This was done presumably due to the gravestone’s importance, chance of it being
vandalised plus exposure to the elements. It its place was a replica headstone
(Figure 5).
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| Replica headstone John Walkers Grave - Figure 5 |
Then
it was off to find the Museum to see the original headstone (Figure 6) which
was set into a recess in the wall of the entrance corridor. It was in
remarkable condition for having been exposed to the elements for well over 100
years. It had been an eventful afternoon.
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| Original headstone John Walkers Grave - Figure 6 |
The
icing on the cake was when I was able to coincide our travels with a Match Club
Fair at which I was able to purchase a pottery mug made for the John Walker 150
Year (1826-1976) Sesquicentenary (Figure 7). If ever you get a chance to visit
England, add the town of Stockton-on-Tees to your list and visit the home of
the inventor of our hobby as his product was adorned with the first ever match
label (Figure 8).
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| Sesquicentenary Mug - Figure 7 |
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| John Walker label - Figure 8 |
I
understand that the British Match Label & Bookmatch Society will be
planning something special for 2026 to mark the bicentenary and will try and
get a loan of John Walker’s daybook with the entry of his sales of friction
matches. I understand that John Walker’s pestles and mortars (Figure 9) are also
exhibited in the Science Museum, London on permanent loan from Bryant & May.
A visit there has now been added to my bucket list!
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| Pestles & Mortars - Figure 9 |
Addendum
– The following text accompanied Figure 2 and is of relevance to this article –
Stan
Hilton on January 23, 2004 stated -
In
1959, nearing the end of my six-year apprenticeship as a compositor with Edward
Appleby Ltd. I helped produce the calendar on which this illustration appeared.
It was printed on both sides using a combination of offset litho and hot-metal
letterpress. The illustration in this picture was hand coloured and printed
with its caption “Two celebrated shops in Stockton High Street” and shows
Thomas Jennett”s printers shop alongside John Walker”s chemist shop, which he
rented from Jennett whose home was accessed through the door between the two
shops. Jennett had been the apprentice of the town”s first printer Robert
Christopher, who had later taken him into partnership, trading as Christopher
and Jennett and then Thomas Jennett”s on the death of Christopher. The Appleby
family becoming the commercial successors to this business. The prime purpose
of the calendar was to celebrate the centenary of the death of John Walker,
inventor of the friction match, 1859 – 1959. On the reverse of the calendar was
a short history of John Walker by the then “Chairman of the Stockton Branch of
the Historical Association”, John W. Wardell.
Found at - https://picturestocktonarchive.com/2005/08/07/john-walkers-shop/
Acknowledgments
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