McVitie's celebrates 100 years

Like a real-life version of Willy Wonka's magical factory, the inside of the McVitie's plant in Harlesden is filled with a sweet chocolate smell and giant conveyer belts coated in freshly baked biscuits.

Now the maker of some of Britain's favourite tea-time snacks - including Hobnobs, Rich Tea biscuits and a host of digestives - is celebrating 100 years of baking in north-west London.

The McVitie-Price factory was founded by Alexander Grant, who was later knighted, and opened on 9 September 1902.

From now until December, staff past and present can reminisce as they peer at black-and-white photographs of famous events in that 100 years.

The Queen Mother, Prince Charles and Margaret Thatcher are among the dignitaries who have met staff on the production line.

General manager Andy Readshaw, who has been in charge at Harlesden since 1995, said: "On average our staff have worked here for 18 years, so we wanted to remind people to be proud of working in this factory."

Also part of the display in the plant's offices are handwritten books containing the original recipes for Jaffa Cakes and the first ever digestives.

A close inspection reveals that the ingredients for the first digestive biscuits included hefty amounts of lard and butter, which would be frowned upon by health-conscious modern biscuit lovers.

In one corner stands a life size cutout of the nine-foot tall wedding cake made for the then Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip's nuptials in 1947.

Albert Williams, 80, now retired, was working in the bake house when the cake was made. He broke into a smile when he saw the cut-out.