History
From 1979 Thorner's has been delivering on quality products in the South West. Follow the journey below from butchery to opening our restaurant below
The Thorners story began in 1979 when Jon Thorner (Founder) returned to the family business at Bridge Farm. Jon started butchering beef, pork and lamb for local farmers from the family’s abattoir. Jon built a strong reputation in the local community for selling quality meat from local producers at affordable prices and built a strong reputation. Throughout the Eighties the business grew significantly culminating in 1990 to building the Bridge Farm Shop. This is now the businesses headquarters in Pylle. The shop was designed around a large butchery counter and resembled Jon’s vision of creating products from locally sourced high welfare meat, ensuring the best possible taste. The shop also stocked a wide range of frozen and locally sourced chilled and ambient products.
In the mid to late Nineties Jon built the butchery production unit where we currently operate from. This enabled him to grow the catering and retail business and support the Thorners franchises which at the time were in Farrington Gurney, Beckington, Frampton Cotteral, Hare Hatch and Mortimer’s near Reading.
The Homemade Division began in 2005, established by John Emery (Product Director) who had previously run the Queens Arms in Wraxall for Jon Thorner. The business initially focused on making the highest quality pies and then moved onto producing quiches, pork pies, sausage rolls, scotch eggs and ready meals. In 2019 the Thorners ‘Vegan Curried Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Pie’ won ‘Supreme Champion’ at the ‘National Pie Awards’ in Melton Mowbray. This was the first time in the events 11-year history that a vegan pie had taken the top prize!
In October 2010 Thorners set up ‘The Den’ named by Jon’s daughter, Natalie. The coffee shop based at Pylle showcases a wide range of Thorners products and is infamous for the best cooked breakfast in Somerset. As Jon approached retirement, he wanted to work with a local business that maintained the Thorners Brand and adopted its vision. In May 2018 Jon sold half the business to Thomas and Richard Hunt. Thomas worked closely with Jon running the business until he retired in June 2019 and in July 2021 Thorners became part of Hunts Food Group who now exclusively distribute the brand into Catering and Retail customers across the South of England.
In October 2020 Coral Hunt opened Thorners new Farm Shop next to The Den. This stocks the entire Thorners range and numerous high quality local products as well as clothing and gifts. This move enabled the butchery business to expand into the old farm shop. In April 2020 Paul Loader joined the business as ‘Butchery Director’ and he now runs our BRC accredited butchery that supplies catering and retail customers across the South of England. Still to this day we carry out Jon Thorners vision of supplying high quality and accredited locally sourced meat that makes the best tasting products!