Rishy Crisps was founded in the 1950s in Lancashire. The company moved into a former woollen mill in Great Harwood in the early 1960s. It was later acquired by another Lancashire snacks company, Burtons.
There was possibly a factory fire some time in the 1960s:
“I remember a big fire there in the 1960’s, the floor was covered in hot oil, it ruined our fire boots which were made of leather, after that the brigade changed to a thick soled rubber boot with a steel toe protector.”
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Rishy Crisps became known for XL Crisps which were hugely popular in the North of England and Scotland for a time. The XL brand was revived in the 1980s, but just two years later, in 1986, all but two of the staff at the Great Harwood factory were made redundant and the factory ceased production.




XL Cheese Crisps still going.
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They used to sell bags of xl cheese crisps at Darwen Baths. Can we still get them? They were the best I have ever tasted.
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Yes, you can still buy them, only now they are part of the Golden Wonder group. They were very popular in the NW. During the 1950s I can remember sitting in a pub car park in the Lake District and being supplied with Rishy XL cheese flavoured crisps. These crisps ever.
Still available by the box on ebay and amazon
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Yes, you can still buy them, only now they are part of the Golden Wonder group. They were very popular in the NW. During the 1950s I can remember sitting in a pub car park in the Lake District and being supplied with Rishy XL cheese flavoured crisps. These crisps the best ever.
Still available by the box on ebay and amazon
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Most shops and pubs in and around Carlisle stock these, as far as I’m aware they’ve never been off the shelves and are still among the most common empty bags seen blowing across the street.
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Rishy crisps cheese flavour were the best ever, had them all the time in the fifty. Our local shop sold out they were great 👍.
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