Donkey stone

The 'donkey brand' was originally the trade mark of a Manchester company called Edward Read & Son, who were one of several makers of the stones.

The last big manufacturer of the stones was a company called Eli Whalley, founded in the 1890s, in Ashton-under-Lyne, which ceased trading in 1979.

Some of that company's old machinery is preserved at the town's Portland Basin Industrial Museum, and a blue plaque commemorates the site of the old works at Donkey Stone Wharf on the canal.

Eli Whalley's stones were sold under the Lion Brand trade mark, the design of which was based on a photograph of a live specimen at Belle Vue Zoo.

[2] Donkey stones are still sold in certain northern markets and towns, their production being continued in Colne, Lancashire by Chris Fawcett.