William Harbutt

In 1899, Harbutt was awarded a trade mark, and in 1900, a factory was set up at nearby Bathampton to manufacture the product for commercial sale.

He was a member of Bath New Church Society which followed the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg,[6] He and Bessie had seven children, six of whom survived infancy and worked in the family business.

The Paradise in Plasticine garden, a creation of journalist and presenter James May displayed at the 2009 Chelsea Flower Show included a bust of Harbutt sculpted by Jane McAdam Freud.

[8] In 2009, his hometown of North Shields attempted to commemorate his legacy by commissioning some street furniture to resemble plasticine shapes and colour, made out of concrete.

[9] Unfortunately these had to be removed shortly after installation due to complaints from the public,[10][11] as the street furniture retained pools of water in the seats after rain rendering them unusable or the user getting wet.