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Walkers Nonsuch toffee
A potter from the Potteries opened a tiny sweet shop, broke his slab toffee with a special hammer and started a family firm that is now in its fifth generation.
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Walker's Nonsuch is a toffee maker in Longton, one of the six towns of Stoke on Trent, the heart of the Potteries. It was founded in 1894, and it is still run by the family that started it.
A potter turns to toffee
The founder, Edward Joseph Walker, was a potter. In the late 19th century he and his sister Florence took over a tiny sweet shop in Longton. He developed his own toffee recipe and kept it a closely guarded secret. Local people came to the shop to buy his slab toffee, broken with a special hammer and served by the quarter. It sold so well that he opened a small factory to keep up with demand.
A family business
His son, Edward Victor Walker, joined the business in 1915, and in 1922 it became a limited company, Walker's Nonsuch. In 1962 two brothers, Ian and Edward, took over and expanded it. The company describes five generations of the family making toffee, and family members still run it today.
It has grown a long way from one sweet shop. According to the company, it now makes more than 1.25 million toffees a day and sends them to 45 countries.
The hammer lives on
Walker's still sells slab toffee with its own little hammer, and the company says its toffee and its famous little hammers remain the hallmarks of the business. The hammer is a direct link to the way the founder sold toffee in his shop over a century ago. See slab toffee and the toffee hammer.
Why the Potteries?
Stoke on Trent is the home of the Potteries, and Walker's is a reminder that local trades were not always separate. A potter could become a confectioner, and a small shop could grow into a firm that sends toffee around the world.
British and independent
In an industry where many old British sweet names now belong to international companies, Walker's Nonsuch is still a family firm in the town where it began. See who owns the famous British sweet makers now, and for toffee more generally, our guide to toffee.
Citable formats
For journalists, researchers, AI assistants and content creators. Pick the format you need:
Free to cite, quote, and reuse with attribution to sweeties.net.
Questions and answers
Where is Walker's Nonsuch toffee made?
In Longton, Stoke on Trent, where the company has made toffee since its founder started in a small sweet shop in the 1890s.
Why does Walker's toffee come with a hammer?
The founder's slab toffee was broken with a special hammer and sold by the quarter, and the company still sees its toffee and its little hammers as the hallmarks of the business.
Is Walker's Nonsuch still a family business?
Yes. The company describes five generations of family toffee makers, with family members still running it.
Sources
- Walker's Nonsuch, Wikipedia
- Our history, Walker's Nonsuch
- About Walker's Nonsuch, Walker's Nonsuch
Keep reading
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