Beginnings. The firm was founded by John Mackintosh (1868-1920) and his wife, Violet (née Taylor), who bought a pastry shop in Halifax with their joint savings of £100 in 1890, the year that they married. Violet, who had been a confectioner’s assistant before her marriage, ran the shop and her husband continued to work at a cotton mill. To attract customers, they decided to sell a special …