Friday 13th February 2026  

A unique Quorn business - ships in bottles!

One of the most unusual small businesses that Quorn has supported over the years, must be that of Marshall Novelcrafts, who were based in a workshop at 33 Freehold Street, and made ships in bottles. The workshop was once occupied by carpenter and undertaker Joseph Hand.

The picture below shows one of their typical ship in a bottle products, and the next image is a photograph of their premises from the 1980s, courtesy of an old local resident, Harry Limbert. This small factory was situated on the left of Freehold Street as you come in from Soar Road; ie after the two bungalows and three town houses, and immediately before the terraced houses. The building has since been demolished and the plot used for housing.

Marshall Novelcrafts started in Quorn in the early 1960s. Some of their labels stating the place of manufacture at Quorn, also indicate they have a base in St Ives, Cornwall. The firm relocated from Quorn to Loughborough in about 1996.

Submitted on: 2019-12-11 Submitted by: Sue Templeman Artefact ID: 2250 Artefact URL: www.quornmuseum.com/display.php?id=2250 Print: View artefact in printer-friendly page or just on its own (new browser tab).