The former Noblett’s shop on London Road, known for selling Everton mints well into the 20th century, has been shuttered by Liverpool Council due to being left vacant for several weeks. This shop’s history is intertwined with Everton’s famous nickname, the Toffees, owing to a mint with a toffee center and recognizable black and white stripes, believed to date back to Molly Bushell’s creations in the 1700s. Noblett’s on London Road was said to have stocked these treats as a way to draw in early fans, contrasting with the toffee shop set up by Old Ma Bushell when the club was located at Anfield until 1892. The mint’s black and white design purportedly emulated the early kits of the team after its name changed from St Domingo’s, by Hesketh & Co.
In later years, the site became known as a deli but retained some of its historical charm, including old Mother Noblett’s designs painted at the top of the building. Unfortunately, the shop is currently in disrepair and has been seized by local authorities. Back in March 1997, Kathleen Moran and Winifred Cliffe, two former sweet shop workers, about their experiences.
Kathleen Moran said, “I went to work at Noblett’s when I was about fifteen. There were quite a few branches of Noblett’s but I was in the Houghton Street branch near the Playhouse, where they made the toffee. Roe Street, Moorfields, Birkenhead, New Brighton and London Road. Two in Southport and three in Dublin. A wonderful smell of sweet-making pervaded the Houghton Street factory, when I joined the firm. They made all sorts of sweets apart from Everton toffee; mint rock, pear drops, Everton mints and chocolate almonds. The rock had the name Noblett running right through it.”
Winifred Cliffe said “All the shops were lovely. There were brass fittings which you had to clean with a special acid based preparation. There were small iron tables with chairs, where lemonade was served. London Road was a thriving shopping area in those days, bustling with people, the shops open until ten o’clock at night. I remember that you could buy a quarter of chocolate almonds for 1/3d which was a lot of money in those days. No-one seems to know what the connection is between Molly and Mother Noblett but it was Mother Noblett who was the emblem in my day. We did not earn much. I think my wages were 8/4d, around the year 1935. But it was a lovely world and the Noblett’s a lovely family. They lived in a big house in Grassendale.”
The former sweet shop, now closed by Liverpool Council, became notable once more as the local authority issued a letter displayed outside, confirming changes to the locks. A landlord representative stated that the rent is over 21 days overdue, resulting in the premises being repossessed, and the lease is now void.
The property, offered a 125-year lease for 104-106 London Road in February 2023, had been included in plans for renovation into a multi-purpose center for social enterprises and charities. The site’s seizure marks the second property taken over by the council recently, following a similar move regarding a long-abandoned property at 7 Beaconsfield Street.
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