Jelly Babies were first created in Nelson in 1864. The sweets were first manufactured by Thomas Fryer and his sweet company in Colne Road. One of Fryer’s employees was an Austrian immigrant named Steinbeck, who is reported to have created the jelly baby. When Steinbeck was asked to create a new mould for jelly bears, the end product looked more like babies. The rest, as they say, is history. The sweets were originally named ‘unclaimed babies’, so-called after babies left on church steps, and can be traced back to around the 1880s. In 1885 Riches Confectionary of Duke St, London Bridge, was advertising a sweet called ‘jelly babies’placeholder image
Jelly Babies were first created in Nelson in 1864. The sweets were first manufactured by Thomas Fryer and his sweet company in Colne Road. One of Fryer’s employees was an Austrian immigrant named Steinbeck, who is reported to have created the jelly baby. When Steinbeck was asked to create a new mould for jelly bears, the end product looked more like babies. The rest, as they say, is history. The sweets were originally named ‘unclaimed babies’, so-called after babies left on church steps, and can be traced back to around the 1880s. In 1885 Riches Confectionary of Duke St, London Bridge, was advertising a sweet called ‘jelly babies’ | David Pimborough - stock.adobe.com

19 amazing inventions you didn't know were made in Lancashire - from Vimto to pies to fingerprinting

By Catherine Musgrove

Senior reporter

Published 27th Nov 2025, 06:00 GMT

Us Lancastrians are a resourceful - and intelligent - lot.

Over the years, the Red Rose county has seen a whole host of inventions, and some have become everyday items, phrases or ways of life - without us even realising their history.

So take a look at the pages below, and be prepared to be amazed.

TVR began in Blackpool in 1947 as Trevcar Motors, a general engineering business founded by Trevor Wilkinson. The company was renamed TVR Engineering and started building sports cars, with its first original chassis being built in 1949. TVR continued to be a major employer in Blackpool, producing sports cars until it moved its manufacturing base out of the town in 2006

17. Blackpool 1990

TVR began in Blackpool in 1947 as Trevcar Motors, a general engineering business founded by Trevor Wilkinson. The company was renamed TVR Engineering and started building sports cars, with its first original chassis being built in 1949. TVR continued to be a major employer in Blackpool, producing sports cars until it moved its manufacturing base out of the town in 2006 | National World

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Terylene is a brand name for a type of polyester fiber invented in Accrington by chemists John Rex Whinfield and James Tennant Dixon in 1941. Terylene became a revolutionary synthetic fabric used in clothing and industrial applications due to its durability and resistance to stretching, shrinking, and wrinkling.

18. Terylene

Terylene is a brand name for a type of polyester fiber invented in Accrington by chemists John Rex Whinfield and James Tennant Dixon in 1941. Terylene became a revolutionary synthetic fabric used in clothing and industrial applications due to its durability and resistance to stretching, shrinking, and wrinkling. Photo: Kinga Krzeminska

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