Mad O' Rourke's Pie factory was built in 1856 and was equipped with shell die presses
from the Royal Ordinance works at Bilston.
The problem of the pastry being so hard was overcome when it was realised that the pies had a very long shelf
life. This made them very popular particularly with the shipping and military people in the pre-canning days. It
was for this reason that the works was granted a full on licence to encourage production and overtime.
However, it was in the Crimea war that the pies reached ultimate fame. A regiment of the 'Staffordshire Light
Headers', besieged and running out of ammunition, were facing annihilation when Private Eric Crump, a Gornal
gunner remembered that the pies they were carrying were the 562 gauge, the same as the guns. He rallied the
men and loaded the guns with the fearsome pies and gun powder. The casualties to the enemy were so devastating,
with cracked skulls and deadly pork shrapnel that they soon surrendered bringing the war to an end. Eric Crump
was awarded the 'George Pie' medal for outstanding ingenuity in the face of the enemy.
Queen Victoria was a frequent visitor to the Pie Factory. It was rumoured that she was having an affair with Mad O'Rourke and that this was when Mad O'Rourke was first introduced to wine. The most fortunate part of his
relationship with the queen was that she bequeathed him the famous irish vineyard at Ballykillferret for his
services to the realm. This famous vineyard, better known as 'Chateau Ballykillferret' is located 182 nautical
miles due East of the lovely Wicklow mountains. As the wines of this famous vineyard are exclusive to our own
pubs it has made the wine almost celebrity status.
Other famous visitors included 'Rudyard Kipling' whose son trained here before going on to open his own cake
factory and Lord Lucan was sited at the Pie Factory but mysteriously disappeared (A few complaints were made
about the pies being a bit tough the following week!)
The factory was extensively re-built in 1923 after an explosion caused by a loud Bang! It was re-designed by 'Le
Courbossier' and has the only Art Deco cowtrap in Europe.
The factory produces 17500 pies per day plus V.A.T. and they are all prepared to a unique set of recipes, known
only to three people, the parish priest and a cat.
