The Taunton Cider Company was a

cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and the Republic of Ireland. The UK has the world's highest per capita consumption, ...

producer, based in

Norton Fitzwarren Norton Fitzwarren is a village, electoral ward, and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated north west of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village has a population of 3,046. History The village is on the southern slope ...

, north west of the county town of

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England. The company is best known for being the developer and producer of

Blackthorn Cider Blackthorn Cider is a cider produced by Gaymer Cider Company, a subsidiary of C&C Group. Previously it was known as Blackthorn Dry or Dry Blackthorn. It is sold in a variety of forms, commonly being served draught in pubs or being sold in cans or ...

, now produced by

Gaymer Cider Company The Gaymer Cider Company produced and marketed cider. It has been owned by C&C Group since 2010. However, the Gaymer brand is no longer used and the business has been consolidated into the parent company. History It is unknown when the Gaymer famil ...

, a subsidiary of

C&C Group plc C&C Group plc (known prior to its flotation as Cantrell & Cochrane Limited) is an Irish manufacturer, marketer and distributor of alcoholic drinks, particularly cider, and soft drinks. It has production facilities across Ireland, Great Britain ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Origin

In 1805, a local farmers co-operative had formed to produce cider at Norton Fitzwarren. By the early 1900s, the Reverend Cornish had started producing cider from these locally produced apples and pulp at the Heathfield Rectory. In 1911 the priest and the co-operative set-up the "Taunton Cider Company" in Norton Fitzwarren, to commercially produce his cider.

After World War I

After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, producing only non-sparkling cider in traditional wooden barrels, the methodology only allowed the products to be distributed around the wider Taunton area, and hence the company choose only to supply

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s. Becoming a

private limited company A private limited company is any type of business entity in "private" ownership used in many jurisdictions, in contrast to a publicly listed company, with some differences from country to country. Examples include the '' LLC'' in the United Sta ...

in April 1921, the structure of the company changed again after the

UK Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

introduced the Purchase Tax on cider in 1923, but the company managed to continue to produce their basic recipe. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in the 1950s the introducing of

pasteurisation Pasteurization or pasteurisation is a process of food preservation in which packaged and non-packaged foods (such as milk and fruit juices) are treated with mild heat, usually to less than , to eliminate pathogens and extend shelf life. Th ...

gave the cider a much longer shelf life, allowing the drink to be marketed nationally. Mastering this process allowed the company to purchase local competitors Quantock Vale, Ashford Vale, Bruttons and Horrells.

The 1980s

By the 1980s, the company was the UK's second largest cider maker after

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

-based

H. P. Bulmer H.P. Bulmer is a cider-making company founded in 1887 in Hereford, England. The company's two principal brands are its own Bulmers cider, which is sold worldwide, and Strongbow, which is sold across Europe, the US & Canada, Oceania and Ea ...

, employing 550 people at its Norton Fitzwarren site, which produced 30 million gallons of cider per annum. The main brand was

and various derivatives (Original, Dry, Sweet, Special Vat, Cool), as well as: Diamond White; Red Rock; and the draught-only Taunton Original. Autumn Gold was the sweet derivative which was available on draught, in cans and bottles throughout the country. The company also marketed and distributed Miller Genuine Draft lager in the United Kingdom in a joint agreement with the

Miller Brewing Company The Miller Brewing Company is an American brewery and beer company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1855 by Frederick Miller. Molson Coors acquired the full global brand portfolio of Miller Brewing Company in 2016, and operates the M ...

The 1990s

In 1995 the company was bought by drinks company

Matthew Clark plc Matthew Clark is a United Kingdom-based drinks distributor, owned by C&C Group. Founded in 1810, the business primarily serves public houses, restaurants, bars and hotels within the mainland UK. History The company was formed in 1810 by Matth ...

for £256 million, which itself is now part of the Gaymers Cider Company.

Revival

In 2016 it was reported that the company had been revived, now based in

Churchstanton Churchstanton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated within the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, on the River Otter south of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The parish has a populati ...

. In 2017 the company moved back in to central Taunton. The reformed company received a number of accolades in 2017 including a diploma in the British Bottlers Institute annual awards, a bronze in both the British Cider Championships and International Cider Awards, and Highly Commended in the Taste of the West Awards. It has also been shortlisted in the Beer and Cider Marketing Awards for Best Launch and the Somerset Business Awards for Best New Business.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Companies based in Taunton Somerset ciders Food and drink companies established in 1911 British companies disestablished in 1995 1911 establishments in England 1995 disestablishments in England British companies established in 1911