J.S. Fry & Sons Ltd merged their financial interests with Cadbury in 1919. The earliest records of J.S. Fry & Sons go back to 1728, when a Bristol apothecary called Walter Churchman started his business. Walter Churchman must have been one of the authorities on chocolate making in his day because in 1729 he was granted Letters Patent by George II. The following notice appeared in Farley's Bristol Newspaper at that time:

"His Majesty having been pleased to grant to Walter Churchman of Bristol, Letters Patent for the sole use of an Engine by him invented for the expeditious, fine and clean making of chocolate to greater perfection than by any other method in use, the patentee purposes to sell his Chocolate at the common prices... N.B. Buyers of shells may be furnished with any quantity of them at a low price at his house in Broadmead."

Medical literature in the late 17th century and into the 18th century vigorously recommended chocolate for its beneficial medicinal qualities, particularly as a mixer for less palatable medicines.

Soon manufacturers realised that with the correct flavourings, this supposed therapeutic potion could be made into a palatable and particularly pleasant drink.

After the death of Walter Churchman, his son Charles carried on the business, until he died in 1761. The Churchman's business was then taken over by a young Quaker, Doctor Joseph Fry, who purchased the patent and recipes.

Born in Sutton Benger, Wiltshire in 1728, Dr Joseph Fry was apprenticed to apothecary Dr Henry Portsmouth of Basingstoke, receiving extensive training in the medical properties of plants and herbs and the compounding of drugs. As a fully qualified physician he settled in Bristol in 1748 opening an apothecary shop in Small Street.

He had taught himself a number of recipes for chocolate applying his considerable energy and business talent to its production, moving to larger premises in Narrow Wine Street in 1759. Two years later in 1761 the Churchman business and patent was purchased and in 1777, Dr Fry moved his business to the newly constructed Union Street premises.

In those early days, progress was a combination of trial and experiment: Joseph Fry was a great innovator, able to adapt the inventions and experience of others for use in his own business. Basic chocolate production techniques involved cocoa beans being roasted over an open charcoal fire, with hand winnowing followed by grinding and crushing on a heated slab. Cocoa mass was mixed with flavourings and sugar in copper or tin pans, then shaped into tablets. Eating chocolate was unknown and consumers would make a chocolate drink by placing the tablet in the bottom of a chocolate cup adding hot water or milk.

Production was small, often hindered by inadequate supplies of raw materials. Heavy import duties excluded all but the richest people from the purchase of Fry's Bristol chocolate. In 1776, one pound of Fry's famous chocolate retailed at 7/6d (35p), a sum only slightly below the average agricultural labourer's weekly wage.

Joseph Fry was a remarkable man who not only visualised the commercial possibilities of chocolate but also had interests in other businesses such as printing, china manufacture in the celebrated Bristol China Works, a soap and candle firm, and a chemical works in Battersea, London.

He died in 1787 and his business interests passed to his wife Anna. Joseph had earned the respect and affection of his brethren in the Society of Friends for his efforts in raising the moral tone of the denomination.

Chocolate and confectionery have been made on the Cadbury Somerdale site in Keynsham near Bristol since the 1930s. However the history of chocolate manufacture in the area goes back to the middle of the 18th century when Dr Joseph Fry, a young Quaker physician, began to make chocolate at his apothecary shop in Small Street, Bristol. This was the origin of J.S. Fry & Sons, the oldest chocolate firm in Britain, and possibly in the world.

Joseph Fry was a remarkable man, an innovator with tremendous business acumen. Following his death the business was passed to his wife and son, Joseph Storrs Fry, under whose stewardship the company became known as J S Fry & Sons.

The Somerdale story encompasses the fascinating history of the Fry's chocolate traditions, which span the reigns of ten British monarchs from George II to Elizabeth II. Some of the most famous and longest-established brand names in UK confectionery, from big sellers like Crunchie and Picnic to well established favourites such as Fry's Turkish Delight and Chocolate Cream, are produced at Somerdale, using the most advanced processing technology.

http://www.cadbury.co.uk/EN/CTB2003/about_chocolate/history_cadbury/cabury_fry/