A Virol Jar - one of the Treasures of Market Lavington which can be seen at Market Lavington Museum
Virol was marketed as ‘The Ideal Food’ It was ‘A preparation of bone marrow’ and ‘an ideal fat food for children and invalids’
Virol was first produced, experimentally, by the Bovril company at their Old Street, London works in 1899. Presumably they decided the product was good for in 1900 the Virol company became a separate section of Bovril and within the decade it was regarded as an independent company.
Adverts persuading people to buy must have managed to fill parents with guilt, if they didn’t give their children Virol. Simple phrases such as ‘School children need Virol’ were used in adverts that looked rather like editorial content. The message was also shown on enamel advertising signs.
In 1920 production of Virol moved to modern premises in Perivale in Middlesex. Production ceased sometime during the second world war.
Many of the delightful, earthenware jars survive. We have just one small jar at Market Lavington Museum.
Tags: earthenware, Easterton, Fiddington, Health, household goods, Market Lavington, trade
Market Lavington Museum 
July 28, 2011 at 7:03 pm |
i unearthed a jar like the one in your picture today while digging in Irlam Manchester which is in very good condition..
October 3, 2011 at 1:28 pm |
I was diving in the waters around Shetland and found a Virol jar
which is similar to your picture,but larger and with a smaller neck.
October 3, 2011 at 1:59 pm |
I think they are quite common. I have one myself which is bigger than the museum one. I found it near an old blast furnace in Shropshire.
November 3, 2011 at 7:59 am |
I remember eating Virol as a child in the 1950s so production must have continued for some time after WW2
June 23, 2014 at 6:08 am |
Yes, I remember having Virol too – in fact we used to get it from the “welfare” (as I remember it being called) together with orange juice concentrate just after the war. I think this was for families with small children.
June 23, 2014 at 7:05 am
We at the museum recall that utterly delicious, sugar laden orange juice but certainly our curator never had Virol
December 19, 2011 at 6:42 pm |
how much do they cost
December 19, 2011 at 6:52 pm |
That isn’t something we deal in. Our museum is always willing to receive gifts which must have a real connection with the parishes of Market Lavington and Easterton.
January 3, 2012 at 7:08 pm
no not sell to you but just see how much
January 4, 2012 at 4:32 pm
Sorry. The point I was making was that we don’t buy things so we have no idea of cash value. All our items have a connection with our villages and are therefore of value to us, beyond price.
If I want to value something I usually look and see what things sell for on ebay. A virol pot like ours has less than 4 hours left in the auction as I write and has attracted no bids as yet – not even the 99p starting price. A smaller pot has a bid of £11 or so.
See what they actually sell for and that gives you a guide to value.
March 24, 2013 at 4:22 pm |
I would like some information on a Virol jar which I found in a field whilst collecting mushrooms. I know there are lots of virol jars around but the one I have is almost 30cms in height.
March 24, 2013 at 4:37 pm |
Sorry. I know very little. I suggest you try the British Antique Bottle Forum (http://www.britishantiquebottles.co.uk/). They have been really helpful helping me -n and it isn’t just glass bottles.
Rog
Curator
April 23, 2013 at 10:25 pm |
I found a Virol jar.It is intact. The jar has barely or no scratches. it’s awesome how something like that is intact! it was found while digging under a house in Far Rockaway. (Queens, N.Y)
April 24, 2013 at 5:41 am |
Virol was clearly a world wide brand.
Rog
Curator
May 9, 2013 at 5:52 am |
I happened across a virol jar while doing a sewer excavation in Illinois. Perfect condition! Brown glass. with F4 on the bottom. Does that mean anything?
May 9, 2013 at 7:26 am |
I’ve no idea if F4 means anything. Try the British Antique Bottle Forum. I have found them very helpful.
Rog
Curator
August 7, 2013 at 12:55 pm |
Just found a Virol little jar in my garden together with old milk bottles and very old looking tiny toys ..depending where we lightly dig we find other things and in perfect condition. Love it! it says “Ideal food. A preparation of bone marrow. Ideal food for children and invalids” 🙂
August 7, 2013 at 1:03 pm |
Always great finding these things. It sounds as though your jar has found someone who will treasure it too.
September 29, 2013 at 5:48 pm |
[…] Market Lavington Museum Blog […]
January 31, 2014 at 9:07 am |
hi people im a bobcat operator and unearthed a small virol bootle the same as the museum one whilst trenching unit or flat foundations in bundaberg queensland australia in 2013 reidy.
June 30, 2014 at 3:17 pm |
I have a professionally made photograph record of the whole Virol story, entitled, “Where Health Is Made, The Home Of Virol”. It measures 16 X 11 inches and has 22 pages of full plate photographs with the complete story of how it was made. There is an aero photograph of the factory, and a photograph of all the male staff, named. They had their own sports ground and also invited nurses to visit the factory .I have not been able to date it, but the product was made in brown bottles and 28lb tins for hospitals. One photograph shows 2 stacks of bottles with 288,000 in each. The delivery lorry also has solid tyres and VIROL on the side.
June 30, 2014 at 8:26 pm |
How fascinating and what a lovely item to have.
Rog
Curator
September 5, 2014 at 7:50 pm |
Was the factory in Lifton, Devon?
July 25, 2014 at 1:54 pm |
I was given Virol by my mother in the early 60’s so it was definitely still around then…..
July 25, 2014 at 2:10 pm |
Thanks for that info, Chris
September 5, 2014 at 7:48 pm |
My first job starting in our local factory was on the “Virol filling machine”. I used to put the Virol in the jars!! This I did from 1974 to 1976. Production of Virol did continue after that….to about 1977/78. After that, the machinery was removed from our factory and it is rumoured that it was shipped to somewhere in Scotland
September 5, 2014 at 8:13 pm |
Gosh, how fascinating. We had no idea where the stuff was made and also didn’t know it was made so recently.
Rog
Curator
September 26, 2014 at 6:34 am |
I remember my mum giving us Virol in the late 50s, a spoonful every day, but I am sure it was a brown sticky substance based on a malt extract so maybe they changed the product…certainly more appealing taste than bone marrow fat!
February 28, 2015 at 6:25 am |
my man dug one up in Townsville Queensland
in Australia. Near an old WW2 Army Camp..it is in Worn condition.as like the picture .
February 28, 2015 at 6:56 am |
Virol was widely used internationally. The bottles are quite common – but still, we think, lovely items.
February 28, 2015 at 10:32 am |
I don’t know, but I think that everybody are talking of finding old Virol jars like the one shown in the photo, but in the mid ’70’s the jars were of 2 different sizes and very much like a Bovril/Marmite sort of design, made of brown glass,
June 24, 2015 at 7:51 pm |
Virol was still around in the 70’s. I gave it to my children, born in 1976 and 79, but it was thick brown, almost like treacle, made from malt. It was delicious. When babies were extra hungry or off colour we used to dissolve a spoonful in their bottles of milk! Sure that would be frowned upon nowadays!
June 24, 2015 at 8:17 pm |
Thanks Karen – and it does say Virol now so I’ll delete your other message. Do you know I never saw it for our children (born 1977 and 1980). Mind you, in deepest rural Wiltshire we didn’t find much that was a tad out of the ordinary.
We love these personal memories. It brings things alive.
Rog
Curator
July 28, 2015 at 4:13 pm |
I was born in1949 and as a nipper we were always given a spoon of Malt Extract and concentrate Orange on a spoon. I’ve been trying to remember the brand or name of this juice.Anybody help out?
July 28, 2015 at 5:41 pm |
I’m a similar age and remember ‘national health’ orange juice. Maybe the good old NHS did Malt extract as well?
Rog
Curator
October 10, 2015 at 12:42 pm |
My partner has just dug up two virol jars both different sizes. Both in mint condition. Very fascinating to learn what it was used for. Staffordshire. Looks like it’s well travelled.
November 27, 2015 at 5:40 pm |
A have a excellent example of the pot in the picture is there any value in this quality pot .
November 27, 2015 at 6:03 pm |
What do you mean by value? As an ornament it is entirely for you to decide. Unless it has some specific historical value, then they are pretty common items. If you mean cash then we have no idea or really much interest in that.
See what they fetch on an internet auction site!
January 2, 2016 at 6:50 pm |
I was given a Virol jar by my aunt who was given the ” Bone-Marrow” preparation as a baby in 1909. The virol was sent to her (she lived in Alberta) from England by her grandfather. The jar is in good condition, it has a tinier neck and is made of polished earthenware.
January 2, 2016 at 7:45 pm |
Hi Joan. We think the jars are lovely but yours also holds family history which is just fantastic. Long may you and members of your family enjoy it.
Rog
Curator
April 23, 2016 at 8:46 am |
In 1950, at the age of six, I was in hospital in Scotland for a couple of weeks. I recall the nurses came around the children’s wards every morning and offered us the choice of a teaspoonful of either Malt or Virol. Virol was a sweet, sticky substance, very similar to malt but somewhat darker in colour. Both the Malt and the Virol were in large glass jars with metal screw tops.
I also remember orange concentrate around the same time. It was sold in a small, rectangular medicine bottle and you bought it from the local pharmacy. It had a rather bitter taste … probably with no added sugar!
September 20, 2016 at 7:43 am |
We found one exactly like the one shown here in great condition in our rose garden in New Zealand about 10 years ago. We were digging it up and came across all sorts of old bottles. We have kept it in our kitchen on display. I was just pesuaded by my 10 year old to look up its history on the computer after a conversation about it whilst we were sucking the marrow out of lamb shanks. I love things with a story.
March 7, 2017 at 6:47 pm |
I have just found one in my garden in Worthing, West Sussex, UK. Its dark brown glass with Virol embossed on the side. I like the one in the picture though. kev turner
October 4, 2017 at 12:15 pm |
Hi I recently found one of these pots and know nothing about it are they rare I had never heard of it before
October 4, 2017 at 5:59 pm |
No, they are not rare. Being quite sturdy, they seem to have survived well.
September 26, 2018 at 9:15 am |
I used to have virol every day as a child along with the rest of the family I remember it tasted a lot better then modern day malt extract
September 10, 2020 at 6:07 am |
If production stopped during the Second World War how is it I was still eating it in the sixties as a child? Did another company take up the reigns ?
September 10, 2020 at 7:48 am |
Yes, it appears other firms did take up the reins. We have no expertise on Virol, but have found this link. The disappearance of Virol. Back in the 1940s, schools had …medium.com › the-disappearance-of-virol-142a557cf9d7
September 10, 2020 at 7:23 pm
I have mentioned before that I actually worked the machine that used to put the Virol into the jars from 1974 until 1976. It ceased production at our factory around 1977-78 and was apparently moved to somewhere in Scotland.
September 10, 2020 at 7:35 pm
Thank you Peter.