Historian disputes facts of Fox’s plaque

The claims made on the plaque, unveiled at Whitaker Street, Batley, by Fox’s and the Yorkshire Society, have been disputed by historian Malcolm Haigh.

He said the firm was not founded until well after 1853 and that the house, built in the late 1870s, was not the first bakery used by founder Michael Spedding.

The Batley History Group chairman said Mr Spedding started making biscuits while living in Spring Gardens, off Upper Commercial Street.

As the firm grew Mr Spedding bought land in what became Whitaker Street but which, at the time, was part of the old three field system for agriculture.

He built the house and a bakehouse around 1879, and with his daughter Hannah and her husband Fred Ellis Fox, saw the firm grow.

It was some years later before Michael left the business and his son in law re-named it FE Fox and Sons.

Mr Haigh said 1853 was not the year that the company was founded.

He said in 1861 Mr Spedding was a cloth finisher living in in Batley Field Hill, before he moved to Spring Gardens years later.

He said the move to Whitaker Street was a long time later.

A spokeswoman for Fox’s Biscuits said: “2013 is a special year for Fox’s Biscuits as we celebrate our 160th year.

“The Whitaker Street address is a significant landmark in Fox’s history and we wanted to honour the location with the the White Rose plaque.”

She thanked Mr Haigh for providing the firm with the history of the Fox’s founders to ensure there was no confusion that Michael Spedding lived at Whitaker Street in 1853.