Alfred Bird and custard

The Birmingham scientist, Alfred Bird, invented custard powder because his wife, Elizabeth, was allergic to eggs and consequently the pleasures of conventional custard were denied her.

Alfred came from a distinguished family of scientists and his father was professor of astronomy at Eton College. But no man likes to see his wife made miserable due to an absence from her life of the natural accompaniment to rhubarb. So rather than reach for the stars, Alfred directed his attentions to the development of egg-free custard.

His eureka moment came in 1837 and commercial. production was soon underway Alfred's two sons joined him in the business and astute advertising helped to make Bird's Custard a national institution.
Incidentally of those sons - also named Alfred - set the one record time for pedalling from Land's End to John O'Groats by tricycle that is unbroken to this day.
By about 1900 demand was such that the Birmingham factory couldn't keep up.

A second factory was needed and available for immediate occupation was a brick built former forage store adjacent to Ashchurch Tewkesbury station. This had been used to house hay tackle and equine paraphernalia for horses that had pulled the railway's parcel delivery fleet until superceded by motor vans.

Ashchuch was conveniently just a stop or two down the main line from Birmingham' and before long custard made from powder pro duces by the Tewkesbury workforce was being poured over puddings in the Empire.

The First World War boosted the nation's appetite and large quantities of custard powder were supplied to troops in the trenches, But Second World War rationing resulted in a sharp decline in demand and the Ashchurch factory closed. After the war Dowty took over the building.

When Alfred Bird died his obituary in the journal of the Chemical Society described at length the quite minor scientific contributions he made to the fields of chemistry physics and meteorology But not one word about custard.