Can You Still Buy a Donkey Stone?

If you’ve arrived here after searching for a Donkey Stone, there’s a good chance you remember one.

Perhaps your mum used one. Your grandmother kept one by the back door. Or perhaps you’ve simply heard the expression “donkey stoning the step” and wondered what on earth it meant.

For generations, the humble Donkey Stone was a familiar sight across Lancashire, Yorkshire and the mill towns of Northern England.

These small scouring blocks were originally associated with cleaning greasy stone staircases in textile mills before finding another home on the front steps, flagstones, hearths and window sills of northern houses. Keeping the step clean became both household routine and a little matter of neighbourhood pride. Tameside Council

Whatever Happened to the Donkey Stone?

As mills disappeared and household habits changed, so did demand for the Donkey Stone.

Eli Whalley & Co. of Ashton-under-Lyne was once one of the great manufacturers. At its 1930s peak, the company reportedly produced around 2.5 million Donkey Stones every year. The company eventually ceased production in the late 1970s, and today some of its original manufacturing equipment survives in the collection of Portland Basin Museum. Tameside Council

But perhaps that’s not quite the end of the story.

Could the Donkey Stone Return?

As part of the world of Mind The Trams, we’ve been looking again at forgotten products, traditions and stories from Lancashire life.

And one little idea keeps refusing to go away:

Mo’s Donkey Stone.

At the moment, it’s an idea rather than a product for sale. We’re researching how Donkey Stones were made, investigating whether they could be manufactured again and exploring whether anyone would actually like to see this little piece of northern history return.

And that’s where you come in.

Would You Buy a Donkey Stone?

If you’ve been searching for where to buy a Donkey Stone in the UK, we’d genuinely like to hear from you.

We’re not taking orders and we’re not asking for money.

We’d simply like to know whether there’s still a place for the Donkey Stone.

Leave your email address below and we’ll let you know if Mo’s Donkey Stone ever makes the journey from a 1930s Lancashire story into the real world.

And if you remember using Donkey Stones — or remember your parents or grandparents using them — send us your story. We'd love to preserve those memories as part of the project.

Mo's Donkey Stone

Clean Steps. Clean Flags. Cleaner Homes.

A forgotten Lancashire tradition might just be coming home.

Mind Those Trams. Ding Ding.