Thatchers Cider is a family-owned

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

maker in Sandford,

North Somerset North Somerset is a unitary authorities of England, unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The council is based in Weston-super-Mare, the area's largest town. The district also contains the towns of Clevedon, Nailsea ...

, England.

History

The Thatchers company was founded by William Thatcher in 1904. His son Stanley Thatcher, born in 1910, began selling draught cider to

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

s in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

and the company's presence in the area grew. The company is still family owned and employs around 200 people. In 1992 Martin took over from his father, John Thatcher, as managing director. It has 500 acres of its own orchard, as well as using

apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

s from other growers in the area. Alongside its bush orchards, Thatchers has pioneered a method of growing its apple trees in a hedgerow style. Trained on wires, this enables easier harvesting and also helps to ensure the fruit has the optimum combination of sunlight and rain. It has also led to the development of a new bespoke harvester. At the height of season, Thatchers can press 500 tonnes of apples per day. Thatchers also maintains an exhibition orchard in which over 458 different varieties of apple tree are grown. Many of the traditional ciders produced at Myrtle Farm are matured in 100-year-old oak vats, which gives the cider a distinctive taste although much of their range has a higher than average alcohol content. In addition to its cider production, Myrtle Farm is the UK's biggest processor of

blackcurrant The blackcurrant (''Ribes nigrum''), also known as black currant or cassis, is a deciduous shrub in the family Grossulariaceae grown for its edible berries. It is native to temperate parts of central and northern Europe and northern Asia, w ...

s, dealing with 90 per cent of the UK's total crop, which it processes on behalf of

Ribena Ribena ( ) is a brand of blackcurrant-based soft drink (both uncarbonated and carbonated), and Squash (drink), fruit drink concentrate designed to be mixed with water. It is available in bottles, cans and multi-packs. Originally of England, Engl ...

Sponsorships

Thatchers Cider is available in many sports clubs and events across the South West. They are involved with teams including Winscombe R.F.C.,

Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is a professional rugby union club in Bath, Somerset, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the Recreation Ground, Bath, Rec ...

Somerset County Cricket Club Somerset County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of England, historic county of Somer ...

Bristol Rugby Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded as Bristol Football Club in 18 ...

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil, a town in Somerset, England, with a council named Yeovil Town * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town W.F.C., an English women's football team affiliated with Yeovil T ...

Gloucestershire County Cricket Club Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, founded in 1870, is one of 18 first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of England, hist ...

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

Southampton FC Southampton Football Club is a professional football club based in Southampton, Hampshire, England. The club competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Their home ground since 2001 has been St Mary's Stadium, befor ...

, Plymouth Argyle F.C,

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

and

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

. Thatchers are also involved in many local events and festivals including:

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

Royal Bath and West Show The Royal Bath and West is an agricultural show for the West of England. Held every year at its permanent show ground near Shepton Mallet, Somerset, it is one of a number of County shows in the United Kingdom and is a four-day show. In 2009 and ...

Bristol International Balloon Fiesta The Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is an annual four day free festival of hot air ballooning in Bristol, England. Teams from the UK and other parts of the world bring their hot air balloons to the site and participate in mass ascents where ...

and

Cambridge Folk Festival The Cambridge Folk Festival is an annual music festival, established in 1965, held in the grounds of Cherry Hinton Hall in Cherry Hinton, one of the villages subsumed by the city of Cambridge, England. The festival is known for its eclectic mix ...

. Thatcher's lost their ongoing cider sponsorship of the Glastonbury festival in 2019 to Mallets cider.

TV advertisements

Thatchers aired on national TV with ''Time Stops'' in 2015, with the concept of showcasing the 12:30 pm tasting that happens every Friday at Myrtle Farm, claiming the cider isn’t released until Martin Thatcher has tasted each batch after arriving in a balloon.

References

External links

Thatchers Cider official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thatchers Cider 1904 establishments in England Somerset ciders Companies based in Somerset Cider English ciders Drink companies of England Brands of cider

History

Sponsorships

TV advertisements

See also

References

External links