A little more on the Jeffersons. Robert and Henry Jefferson, Wine and Spirit Merchants of 27 Lowther St., Whitehaven closed less than 5 years ago when the two Misses Jefferson who ran the business retired. The premises were converted into a tourist attraction and in May 2000, Whitehaven held a Caribbean Rum Festival to mark the launch of 'The Rum Story'. From the Whitehaven News 29 May 2000 'The original shop, courtyards, cellars and bonded warehouses have been converted into a £3 million tourist attraction called 'The Rum Story' based on the history of Jefferson's Wine merchants, the oldest family-owned rum importers in England, dating back to 1785.' ------------- 'The story goes back generations with Robert and Henry Jefferson building on their father Henry's 18th century links with the West Indies, bringing in cargoes of rum and molasses into the busy port of Whitehaven. Jefferson's unique blend of fine demerara rums from their estates in Antigua, became a popular tipple in the punch houses of London, manchester and the Northern Counties.' --------------- 'The journey starts in a Caribbean rainforest and graphically depicts the story of rum, bringing to life the Slave Trade, American prohibition, rum in the Royal Navy, rum in history ......' ------------- 'There is a reconstruction of the original Jefferson's wine shop with its authentic artefacts and the clerk's office looking just as it did in the 1700s, with its high desks and stools, old safe and hand-written records.' ----------------- Mel