During the 1800s, the biscuits became a treat that young men from the middle or lower classes would buy as a treat for their sweetheart. Previously, the spices required to create the biscuits were exclusive to the wealthy classes, who used them to make cakes. A number of manufacturers started making ginger biscuits called "fairings" all over England. One example of this was in Grasmere, where the gingerbread sold as fairings was so popular that William Wordsworth's sister Dorothy wrote in one of her journals that she and her brother both craved them. In 1875, John Cooper Furniss obtained a large store in East Bridge Street, Truro, and premises on Duchy Wharf and installed ovens for biscuit manufacturing. He introduced several new kinds of biscuits and also a penny box of sweetmeats with every box containing a small piece of jewellery. Needless to say, these were very successful and in great demand. In 1886, John Cooper Furniss started selling the ginger biscuits at his tea room in Truro, Cornwall, baking them in his Truro bakery. They were so popular that he started selling them via mail-order. The recipe Furniss used is thought to have originated from a "maid-hiring" fair which used to take place during the week after Christmas, in Launceston, Cornwall although Furniss Foods suggest the recipe came from the fairs held at Whitsuntide or Corpus Christi.