The Birth of the Chocolate Bar ~ Julie Lence

 

courtesy of Pinterest

 Born in Birmingham, England in 1728, Joseph Fry was an apprentice to Dr. Henry Portsmouth, who trained Fry in the medicinal field of herbs, plants, and compound drugs. Fry eventually went on to become a doctor, too, and opened his own apothecary in Bristol in 1748. With a firm belief cocoa powder could help with one’s health, he created recipes for drinking hot chocolate and for using cocoa in medicinal ways, one of which was to cover the ill taste of medicines. In 1761, he and John Vaughan bought Charles Churchman’s chocolate company, along with the patent that came with the company for chocolate refining. They renamed the business Fry, Vaughan & Co., with Fry expanding the company over the years, to include making tablets of chocolate to add to milk and hot water. Sadly, he passed away in 1787 and the company was renamed Anna Fry & Son, with Fry’s son, Joseph Storrs, taking the helm in 1795.

Joseph Storrs II
Wikipedia

  Joseph Storrs was just as talented with cocoa as his father, inventing a method to grind cocoa beans using a Watt steam engine, which led to factory techniques being used in the cocoa business. After his mother passed in 1803, Joseph Storrs partnered with Dr. Hunt and renamed the business Fry & Hunt. Hunt retired in 1822 and Joseph Storrs brought in his sons, Joseph Storrs II, Francis, and Richard as partners. The company was renamed J.S. Fry & Sons and became the largest commercial producer of chocolate in the U.K. Joseph Storrs passed away in 1835 and his sons took control, with Joseph Storrs II adopting a technique of pressing cocoa powder, sugar and cocoa into molds in 1847. It is this Joseph who is credited with creating the 1^st chocolate bar, and in 1866, the company began producing the Fry Chocolate Cream Bar with a flavored center surrounded by plain chocolate. (Today, the original chocolate cream and peppermint cream are considered the 2 permanent flavors. Other flavors are strawberry cream and pineapple cream.)

 

The Fry Factory
Wikipedia

  Joseph Storrs II passed away in 1913 and in 1919 the company merged with Cadbury’s chocolate to create a new name, British Cocoa and Chocolate Company. The Fry’s part of the company moved to Somerdale, Keynsham 1923. By 1981, the Fry name was no longer in use at Somerdale, though the factory still produced chocolates for Cadbury.  In 2007, Cadbury announced plans to close the factory by 2010. Instead, they sold to Kraft Foods, who went on to close the factory in March of 2011.