Uncle Joe's Mint Balls

Uncle Joe now has his own Official websites, run by the manufacturers, Santus's of Wigan. They are at www.mintballs.co.uk and www.uncle-joes.com. But this seems to have been Uncle Joe's very first web presence and the web spiders keep crawling back here. So, with Santus's blessing, I'm keeping the page going, to fly the flag for the Sweetie That Made Wigan Famous and to let you all know why a Wiganer's diet consists exclusively of pies and peppermint flavoured sugar.

Uncle Joe's Mint Balls have been made by Santus's in Wigan (UK) for the past 100 years. They have become inextricably associated with this historic Lancashire town and all expatriate Wiganers hanker after them. You can find out more about Wigan at the official Wigan Metro site, or Berni's site, or the Knowhere site - and you should also take a look at Dreams of Pies and Piers.

William Santus was born in 1873 and was the son of a coal miner. He married Ellen Seddon in 1898 and became a stall holder on Wigan market selling fruit and vegetables. Ellen made sweets in her kitchen and she perfected the Mint Ball which she sold on her husband's stall. (The stall is preserved today in Wigan's "The Way We Were" Heritage Centre.) These sweets became extremely popular, especially with local miners. They gave relief from coal dust and were used as a substitute for tobacco - smoking is not allowed in mines.

The brand name, "Uncle Joe's", was devised in 1932, at a time when it was fashionable to name such products after a jovial, avuncular figure. The present factory was commissioned in 1919 and completed two years later, at a cost of 2,412 pounds, 14 shillings and 10 pence. The factory can easily be seen alongside the railway line just north of Wigan North Western station. Train travellers can still see Uncle Joe's slogan, emblazoned on the factory wall:

"Uncle Joe's Mint Balls Keep You All Aglow!"

Only two people know the recipe which is mixed in secret. The three ingredients though are simple: sugar, cream of tartar and peppermint. Oh, and water. They have no artificial additives, which is why an uneaten mint ball will eventually turn to crumbly candy. (Some people prefer them that way.)

The sweets are still boiled on open gas fires. The sugar is boiled up, and then great wodges of toffee are poured onto a table to cool down. Peppermint is sprinkled on by hand, and the toffee is kneaded like dough to work the peppermint in. One of the best things about this method of production is that some of the mint balls, about 1 in 10 in my experience, turn out to be extra strong - a bit of a shock to the unwary! There are more details and some pictures at the Official Uncle Joe's Mint Balls Site.

Santus's also make Pear Drops, Aniseed Balls, Treacle Toffee and all the usual sugary sweeties, but Uncle Joe's Mint Balls are quite simply unique - a fact recognised by the entertainer, Mike Harding, when he wrote a comic song about their (alleged) life-giving properties. The song was popularised by the Houghton Weavers, and you can find the words on the official page. Uncle Joe's are still sold on Wigan Market, and in superior confectionery shops across the North West of Britain. You can even buy them in the duty free shops at Manchester International Airport and the North Terminal at London Gatwick Airport.

You can find out more about the history of Uncle Joe's and Santus's from their own book, A Sweet Story (details from Uncle Joe's Postal Service). The story is also covered in a new book by Maurice Baren, called How It All Began in Lancashire, which is published, price £10.95, by Dalesman Publishing Company Ltd. (ISBN I 85568 I65X) You can buy the book on-line through Amazon.

Oh, yes. I should say something too about the Pies. Pies are big in Wigan. The logo of the local CAMRA Beer Festival features a happy, smiling Pie in a flat cap (and not a barrel end as some have thought). Much local humour revolves around Pies, e.g.:

Q. Where do you go to weigh a pie?
A. Somewhere over the rainbow.

Q. If there's a pie on the Parish Church tower, what time is it?
A. Summat to eight.

(Think about it. It may help if you say it out loud. Maybe not.)

Much of this information comes from Santus's own publicity, so I feel morally obliged to add some details of the products they sell and how you can order them: go to the Uncle Joes' Postal Service for full details.

Neil Worthington
(a Lancastrian exile)

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A Sweet Story - the export trade
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On to the Official Uncle Joe's site
The Council's Guide to Wigan
The Knowhere Guide to Wigan
Berni's Guide to Wigan
And if you like the mouse trail effect, have a look at Dynamic Drive.

This site is maintained by Neil Worthington and was last updated on 06 June 2001.