Cerebos Salt Works produced salt and Bisto. It was taken over by RHM Foods in the 1960s and over the next years produced a vast range of foods including Paxo stuffing, One Cal lemonade, Capri Sun, Atora suet, Chesswood mushrooms and curries, Brands soup and sauces, Sharwoods chutnies and curries and Cracottes biscuits.
Salt production ceased in 1970 and in November of that year, the salt production block was demolished.
RHM Greatham became known as Sharwoods in the mid-1990s before becoming Centura foods prior to closure in 2003.
Two Bisto Girls, Freda Hart (on the left), and Ada Robinson, sitting outside the Cerebos works one lunchtime in 1949.
More detail »An un-named female worker checking the weights of boxes of Saxa Salt. Do you know who she is, or when this photograph was taken?
More detail »A female worker being supervised as she loads a machine with bottom plates for tins of Cerebos salt. Can you name either or both of these ladies?
More detail »Female workers on the tin packing line.
More detail »An early photograph of the Greatham Cerebos Annual Outing, date and location unknown. Faint letters can just be made out on the low roof, part of the bottom line seems to read " .. or boats let out on hire".
More detail »Bisto gravy browning was introduced in 1911 and in 1912 there was a serious fire. As yet we have no more information on this.
More detail »Another view of the fire dated January 1912
More detail »For many years an annual Good Friday charity football match took place at Grayfields between ladies of the two factories. The 1962 match was won by Cerebos 2-1. Money was raised for Guide Dogs for the Blind and the match was kicked off by the Then mayor, Ald D R Ashton.
More detail »Extension works on the Cerebos site, December 1936.
More detail »Cerebos Salt Works main building.
More detail »Construction work on the Cerebos site, in September, 1928.
More detail »Construction work on the Cerebos site, February 1929.
More detail »Aerial view of Cerebos works. In front of the factory is the main Newcastle to Middlesbrough railway line and obscured by the aircraft wing is Greatham station. Over the life of the factory, Saxa and Cerebos salts, Bisto Gravy, Capri Sun drinks, Chesswoods Mushrooms, Sharwoods chutneys and curries, Atora suet were some of the well known brand names produced at the factory. It eventually became RHM Foods and closed in 2003.
HHT&N162
More detail »Cerebos and Saxa salt were packed at the Greatham works from 1900 when Cerebos took over the site although salt had been produced at Greatham Salt Works from the late 1800s.
From 1968, the factory became part of Rank Hovis McDougall and a large range of foods were produced there.
HHT&N 844
More detail »Sharwoods produced One Cal lemonade from approximately 1984 for about 10 years. The photo shows the One Cal 'holding tanks' and the man in the photo is Brian.......?
HHT&N 898
More detail »Olive Tunstall, Marain Bunn (nee Metcalfe), Betty Longmire and Sheila (?), at a Cerebos Dance at the Borough Hall, in 1949. Marian was about 16 years old.
More detail »You might ask yourself why a vehicle belonging to a London firm is on this website. The simple answer is that the company, Brand & Co. Ltd., was taken over by Cerebos in 1959. You can only presume that their vehicles came to Hartlepool as part of the deal.
HHT&n 682
More detail »You might ask yourself why a vehicle belonging to a London firm is on this website. The simple answer is that the company, Brand & Co. Ltd., was taken over by Cerebos in 1959. You can only presume that their vehicles came to Hartlepool as part of the deal.
HHT&N 650
More detail »Taken in the 1920s or 1930s, the view shows just how many women worked at 'The Cerebos' at the time. Greatham railway station was at the site and it was very easy for workers to get from Seaton, West Hartlepool, Hartlepool and other stations within minutes.
On the photo there is a banner proclaiming Christ Jesus above the group standing on the left and there appears to be a preacher speaking. Most of the women however seem to be posing for the camera rather than paying attention to the speaker.
HHT&N 874
More detail »Marian Metcalfe (later Bunn - aged just 15½), Betty Longmire, Doreen Heron and another workmate, on their lunch break at the Cerebos factory in 1948.
More detail »The Cerebos Main building under construction or being extended.
More detail »Taken in the 1980s the three men are posed as they fill barrels of Sharwoods Mango Chutney. They are Roy ? John Jackson and Brian ?
HHT&N 859
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