Mason's Lemonade

Mason’s lemonade factory in Plymouth was one of several bottling plants in the city. Ellery & Co taken over by Whitbread produced R Whites lemonade in Honicknowle from Robert and Mary White who first produced lemonade in 1845 although carbonated water was invented in 1767. Southside Street Bottling Plant on the Barbican was linked to the Plymouth Gin Distillery. R Whites is now part of Britvic. This film may have you sneaking downstairs in the middle of the night!

R. Whites is a brand which from 1973 to 1984 led a successful marketing campaign with the Secret Lemonade Drinker adverts featuring a man in pyjamas creeping downstairs in the middle of the night to raid the fridge for R Whites Lemonade. The song was by Ross McManus father to Declan aka Elvis Costello. In the 1960s drink could be delivered to households and businesses by the fizzy pop delivery man who also took empties. A deposit scheme ensured glass bottles were returned for reuse. Mason’s Lemon’s Gibbon’s and Corona were brand contemporaries. From 1938 James MacPherson turned soft drinks into cheap and affordable health drinks under the British Vitamin Products Company, the forerunner to Britvic.