Well it turns out that there’s a real science when it comes to the mass supply of sandwiches for millions of kitchen tables, on a scale that even the baby jesus might wince at achieving in his later years. Things have to be done by the book; tested to the last grain, examined, and then tested again before they can ever reach the glorious shelves of our conveyor belt supermarkets.

So where did Arkady begin? Well, in Pittsburgh, 1909, Ward Baking Co. of New York who owned a chain of bakeries throughout the United States couldn’t understand why the bread they made was different in every town. They sponsored the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research to identify the reason why. Under the direction of Dr. Robert Kennedy Duncan, this work revealed that the mineral salt content of the local waters was causing the variation and by creating a mixture of these minerals an improvement and standardisation of the bread could be achieved. Under this program, Dr. Duncan and his team developed a new kind of yeast food that produced a superior loaf of bread.

Although Dr. Duncan died before the process was completed, the Ward brothers wanted to honor his achievement. They named the new yeast Arkady, after Duncan’s initials (R.K.D) and so a new name and product was born, paving the way for bread products to be consistent enough that it could be sold by a reputable and reliable brand. Something we probably take for granted today when having the same sandwich for lunch every single bloody day.

The company itself started to get mentions within the wider industry around the 1920’s, then known simply as ‘Arkady’, they began producing yeast related foods in London in 1921, and only four years later had built new premises here in Manchester. From the beginning it seems that Arkady, unsurprisingly given their revolutionary beginnings, were never just in it to make a nice bunch of fresh floury rolls. They wanted to actually look at the science behind perhaps the world’s most important food, and the industry unsurprisingly trusted in them to oversee what went into the products that ended up on the nation’s shelves.

From this point until the turn of the century, once becoming British Akrady co. in 1925 the company expanded the premises to include a factory, offices, laboratory and bakery testing facilities for the marketing of the Arkady product which had become the go-to recipe for success in the market. They had extended their expertise to complete mixes for institutional and industrial canteens and large scale bread processes.

The British Arkady Ltd premises seen from above in 1938

The same view around a decade following its closure in the early 2000's.

British Arkady appear to have left this site around two decades ago. My guess would be something to do with the sudden realisation that asbestos shouldn’t be in your buildings if you’re making let alone testing products that will end up in people’s mouths. The same reason goes as to why it’s still standing. Asbestos – the weary demolition crew still fear thy dust.

So, that's the backstory done. What did I find upon my visit, some 20 years after the closure of the plant? Well, lots and lots of chemicals and obsolete testing devices.

You'll have to bear in mind that beyond the occasional decent homemade pizza or pancake I am no baker, so my findings here were almost all a mystery to me despite getting a B in GCSE Science.

What was obvious however was that British Arkady was a trusted brand. Millions of people across the UK were unknowingly relying on their expertise to perfect a safe and reliable loaf of bread and then some. Among the mess of the labs could be found booklets and notes relating to well known brands such as Asda and Cadbury. (Those aren't shotgun shells - at least I hope not anyway)