Regency Personalities Series-J.S. Fry & Sons

Regency Personalities Series

In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the many period notables.

J.S. Fry & Sons

1761-1967 (Merged with Cadbury in 1919)

J.S. Fry & Sons

J.S. Fry & Sons, Ltd. was a British chocolate company owned by Joseph Storrs Fry and his family. The business went through several changes of name and ownership; it was named J. S. Fry & Sons in 1822. The original Somerdale Factory, then part of Cadbury’s, was closed after 2010.

Joseph Fry, a Quaker, was born in 1728. He started making chocolate around 1759. In 1761 Joseph Fry and John Vaughan purchased the chocolate business of Walter Churchman. The company was then named Fry, Vaughan & Co.. In 1777 their chocolate works moved from Newgate Street to Union Street, Bristol. Joseph Fry died in 1787 and the company was renamed Anna Fry & Son.

In 1795 Joseph Storrs Fry assumed control of the company. He patented a method of grinding cocoa beans using a Watt steam engine. As a result factory techniques were introduced into the cocoa business. In 1803 Anna Fry died and Joseph Storrs Fry partnered with a Dr. Hunt. The business was renamed Fry & Hunt. In 1822 Hunt retired and Joseph Storrs Fry took on his sons Joseph, Francis and Richard as partners: the firm was renamed J. S. Fry & Sons.

The company became the largest commercial producer of chocolate in Britain. In 1835 Joseph Storrs Fry died and his sons took full control.