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| Location | Sandford, Somerset, England |
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| Opened | 1904 |
| Owned by | Independent |
| Website | thatcherscider |
Thatchers Cider is a family-owned cider maker in Sandford, North Somerset, England.
| | |
| | |
| Location | Sandford, Somerset, England |
|---|---|
| Opened | 1904 |
| Owned by | Independent |
| Website | thatcherscider |
Thatchers Cider is a family-owned cider maker in Sandford, North Somerset, England.
The Thatchers company was founded by William Thatcher in 1904. [1] His son Stanley Thatcher, born in 1910, began selling draught cider to pubs in Somerset and the company's presence in the area grew. The company is still family owned and employs around 200 people. [2] In 1992 Martin took over from his father, John Thatcher, as managing director. [3] [4]
It has 500 acres of its own orchard, [5] as well as using apples from other growers in the area. Alongside its bush orchards, Thatchers has pioneered a method of growing its apple trees in a hedgerow style. [5] 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. [6] 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. [5] 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. [7]
In addition to its cider production, Myrtle Farm is the UK's biggest processor of blackcurrants, dealing with 90 per cent of the UK's total crop, which it processes on behalf of Ribena. [8]
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, [9] Somerset County Cricket Club, Bristol Rugby, Bristol City, Yeovil Town, Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, Bristol Rovers, Plymouth Argyle F.C, Exeter City and Torquay United. [10]
Thatchers are also involved in many local events and festivals including: Glastonbury Festival, Royal Bath and West Show, Bristol International Balloon Fiesta and Cambridge Folk Festival.
Thatcher's lost their ongoing cider sponsorship of the Glastonbury festival in 2019 to Mallets cider. [11]
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. [12] [13]
Somerset is a 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 north-east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. The largest settlement is the city of Bath, and the county town is Taunton.
South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England in the United Kingdom. It consists of the counties of Cornwall, Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and large towns in the region include Bath, Bristol, Bournemouth, Cheltenham, Exeter, Gloucester, Plymouth and Swindon. It is geographically the largest of the nine regions of England with a land area of 9,203 square miles (23,836 km2), but the third-least populous, with approximately 5.7 million residents.
Shepton Mallet is a market town and civil parish in Somerset, England, some 16 miles (26 km) south-west of Bath, 18 miles (29 km) south of Bristol and 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Wells. It had an estimated population of 10,810 in 2019. Mendip District Council was based there. The Mendip Hills lie to the north and the River Sheppey runs through the town, as does the route of the Fosse Way, the main Roman road between north-east and south-west England. There is evidence of Roman settlement. Its listed buildings include a medieval parish church. Shepton Mallet Prison was England's oldest, but closed in March 2013. The medieval wool trade gave way to trades such as brewing in the 18th century. It remains noted for cider production. It is the closest town to the Glastonbury Festival and nearby the Royal Bath and West of England Society showground.
Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England, particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire, parts of South Wales and France, especially Normandy and Anjou, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Sir Athelstan Joseph Michael Eavis is an English dairy farmer and the co-creator of the Glastonbury Festival, which takes place at his farm in Pilton, Somerset.
The Wurzels are an English Scrumpy and Western band from Somerset, England, best known for their number one hit "The Combine Harvester" and number three hit "I Am a Cider Drinker" in 1976.
Somerset is a historic county in the south west of England. There is evidence of human occupation since prehistoric times with hand axes and flint points from the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic eras, and a range of burial mounds, hill forts and other artefacts dating from the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages. The oldest dated human road work in Great Britain is the Sweet Track, constructed across the Somerset Levels with wooden planks in the 39th century BCE.
Burrow Hill Cider Farm is a cider farm in Somerset, England at the base of Burrow Hill overlooking the Somerset Levels.
The tradition of wassailing falls into two distinct categories: the house-visiting wassail and the orchard-visiting wassail. The house-visiting wassail is the practice of people going door-to-door, singing and offering a drink from the wassail bowl in exchange for gifts; this practice still exists, but has largely been displaced by carol singing. The orchard-visiting wassail refers to the ancient custom of visiting orchards in cider-producing regions of England, reciting incantations and singing to the trees to promote a good harvest for the coming year. Notable traditional wassailing songs include "Here We Come a-Wassailing", "Gloucestershire Wassail", and "Gower Wassail".
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 440 ml cans or two-litre bottles in shops or supermarkets.
Baltonsborough is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. The parish had a population of 864 at the 2011 Census. As well as Baltonsborough village, the parish contains the hamlets of Ham Street, Catsham and Southwood.
The Apple Wassail is a traditional form of wassailing practiced in the cider orchards of Southern England during the winter. There are many well recorded instances of the Apple Wassail in the early modern period. The first recorded mention was at Fordwich, Kent, in 1585, by which time groups of young men would go between orchards performing the rite for a reward. The practice was sometimes referred to as "howling". On Twelfth Night, men would go with their wassail bowl into the orchard and go about the trees. Slices of bread or toast were laid at the roots and sometimes tied to branches. Cider was also poured over the tree roots. The ceremony is said to "bless" the trees to produce a good crop in the forthcoming season. Among the most famous wassail ceremonies are those in Whimple, Devon and Carhampton, Somerset, both on 17 January.
Brothers Cider is a brand of fruit cider originating in Somerset in South West England. Originally available at music festivals, it is now sold in pubs, bars, and stores across the United Kingdom and internationally in countries such as Thailand, Singapore, and China.
The Cheddar Valley line was a railway line in Somerset, England, running between Yatton and Witham. It was opened in parts: the first section connecting Shepton Mallet to Witham, later extended to Wells, was built by the East Somerset Railway from 1858. Later the Bristol and Exeter Railway built their branch line from Yatton to Wells, but the two lines were prevented for a time from joining up. Eventually the gap was closed, and the line became a simple through line, operated by the Great Western Railway.
Stockwood is a residential area and council ward in south Bristol, between Whitchurch and Brislington, and west of the Somerset town of Keynsham.
Somerset is a county in the south west of England. It has a varied cultural tradition ranging from the Arthurian legends to The Wurzels, a band specialising in Scrumpy and Western music.
Somerset is a county in the south west of England. It is a rural county and transport infrastructure has been significant in industrial development. There is some heavy industry particularly related to the defence technologies and the county has several centres for stone quarrying, although the coalfield is now closed.
Cider in the United Kingdom is widely available at pubs, off licences, and shops. It has been made in regions of the country where cider apples were grown since Roman times; in those regions it is intertwined with local culture, particularly in the West Country.
The Hangdown, also known as Hangydown, Horner, or the Pocket Apple, is a traditional variety of cider apple grown mostly in Somerset and North Devon.
