ABSTRACT
Demand for Wills' tobaccos was expanding so rapidly that even the new Redcliff Street factory could not cope with it, and in 1870 it was decided to open a factory in London. Sales from Long Acre had risen very sharply since 1865 and there were obvious advantages in manufacturing on the spot. Moreover, in tobacco consumption, as in most other forms of consumption, London set the fashion and it was no accident, therefore, that Wills made its first hand-rolled cigarettes in the newly opened factory at Cross Street, Finsbury Pavement. The first brand to make its appearance, in 1871, was named ‘Bristol’.
