Perks & Llewellyn Chemist Shop

Perks and Llewellyn Lavender Industry

Hitchin has always been a very arable area. Lavender has been grown in the town for many years. In 1823 Edward Perks (John Perk’s son) began making lavender products. His son William developed this side of the business further exhibiting Perks Lavender at the London Exhibition in 1862 and Paris Exhibition 1867. Queen Victoria, on a train trip on the newly opened Great Northern Railway (1850), was given a bunch of lavender when she stopped at Hitchin Station.

When Samuel Perks took over the firm in 1876 he had 35 acres of lavender in cultivation. Lavender was harvested by hand using a sickle and brought back to the yard, behind the chemist shop. Here the flower heads were separated from the stalk and made ready for distillation to produce the oil. The distillation was mainly carried out for Perks by William Ransoms and Son, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, who are still in the town today. William Ransoms were a major sponsor for Herts Medical and Pharmaceutical Trust.

Perks and Llewellyn products were still made in Hitchin up until the 1960s. Violet Lewis continued to grow lavender in the town when the business closed in 1961. Many townsfolk can remember the smell of lavender when it was ready for harvesting, late July. Cadwell Farm, Ickleford have started to grow lavender again and make their own range of products.