Jubal Webb

Jubal Webb

Jubal Webb (c. 1840 - December 1901) was a cheesemonger and local politician in the Kensington area.

Webb, who was a shameless self-promoter, was most famous for being the owner of the "Mammoth Cheese". This cheese, at 6 feet high and 28 feet wide, was the largest cheese in the world. Made in Canada, it was exhibited at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. Webb purchased the cheese and brought it to London, where it was carved up in a ceremony presided over by the Canadian High Commissioner, Sir Charles Tupper.

A long-standing member of the Kensington Vestry, Webb represented the parish on the Metropolitan Board of Works from 1887 until its abolition two years later. He attempted to gain election to the successor London County Council in 1889 but was unsuccessful, in part due to his having been before the courts for attempting to extort fees for licences some years earlier. In February 1893 he was again rejected by the voters when a county council by-election was held. The result was noted in the journal of Beatrix Potter who said "The cheesemonger had two foreign bands and sandwich men, and made so much noise everyone thought he was getting in."

In the same year he purchased "The Terrace", an estate of house fronting Kensington High Street, and quickly redeveloped them.

In December 1896 he registered Jubal Webb Limited to combine his own business with those of three other cheesemongers in West London. In June 1899 Webb resigned from the company, claiming health reasons. Shortly afterwards the company took legal action against him and recovered some money from him, although £2,000 was still owing when a winding up order was sort by the creditors of the company in December 1900.

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