Frank Cooper (company)
Encyclopedia
Frank Cooper's is a UK
brand
of marmalades and jams owned by Premier Foods
. Frank Cooper's is known primarily for its "Oxford" Marmalade and holds a Royal Warrant
.
with a shop at 46 High Street, Oxford
. He then became an agent for Ridgeway's Tea and in about 1845 converted his shop into a grocery.
In 1856 F.T. Cooper paid £2,350 for the remainder of a forty-year lease on Nos. 83 and 84 High Street, which were opposite his earlier premises. He ran 84 as a grocery shop and his family home. In 1867 his son, Frank Cooper (1844–1927) inherited the business and expanded the shop into No. 83 next door.
In 1874 Frank Cooper's wife Sarah-Jane
(1848–1932), then aged 24, made 76 pounds (34.5 kg) of marmalade to her own recipe. The marmalade proved popular, and until 1903 was made at 83-84 High Street. Frank Cooper then moved production to a new purpose-built factory at 27 Park End Street
. He retained the High Street premises as a shop until 1919, when he sold it to Twinings
.
The factory was strategically sited close to the stations and goods yards of both the London and North Western Railway
at Rewley Road
and the Great Western Railway
in Botley Road
, making the delivery of fruit and sugar, distribution of marmalade and jam and business travel for company personnel, suppliers and trade customers as efficient as possible. Success of the business led to expansion of the factory in 1912, 1915, 1924 and 1925, using land between the 1903 building and the corner of Hollybush Row.
Frank Cooper's marmalade was especially popular with don
s and students in Oxford University
. It was taken to Antarctica on Robert Falcon Scott
's expedition to the South Pole
. A jar was found buried in the ice many years after the ill-fated expedition.
Frank Cooper's bought the site of the ice rink and Majestic Cinema west of the railway stations on the north side of Botley Road
. A new factory was built on the site and the company moved production there from Park End Street.
Brown and Poulson Ltd. bought Frank Cooper's in 1964 and moved production away from Oxford in 1967, but retained the "Oxford" name for the marmalade.
In 1985 Frank Cooper's again leased 84 High Street, running it as a museum and shop. Production was not returned to Oxford and within a few years Frank Cooper's gave up the shop for a second time. Since 2001, 84 High Street has been marked by an Oxfordshire Blue Plaque commemorating Sarah Cooper's inception of Oxford Marmalade.
The former factory at 27 Park End Street (now part of Frideswide Square
) survives and is now a listed building.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
brand
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
of marmalades and jams owned by Premier Foods
Premier Foods
Premier Foods plc is a British food manufacturer headquartered in St Albans, Hertfordshire. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
. Frank Cooper's is known primarily for its "Oxford" Marmalade and holds a Royal Warrant
Royal Warrant
Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to those who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending prestige to the supplier...
.
Oxford High Street
Francis Thomas Cooper (1811–1862) was originally a hatter and hosierHosiery
Hosiery, also referred to as legwear, describes garments worn directly on the feet and legs. The term originated as the collective term for products of which a maker or seller is termed a hosier; and those products are also known generically as hose...
with a shop at 46 High Street, Oxford
High Street, Oxford
The High Street in Oxford, England runs between Carfax, generally recognized as the centre of the city, and Magdalen Bridge to the east. Locally the street is often known as The High. It forms a gentle curve and is the subject of many prints, paintings, photographs, etc...
. He then became an agent for Ridgeway's Tea and in about 1845 converted his shop into a grocery.
In 1856 F.T. Cooper paid £2,350 for the remainder of a forty-year lease on Nos. 83 and 84 High Street, which were opposite his earlier premises. He ran 84 as a grocery shop and his family home. In 1867 his son, Frank Cooper (1844–1927) inherited the business and expanded the shop into No. 83 next door.
In 1874 Frank Cooper's wife Sarah-Jane
Sarah Cooper
Sarah Jane Cooper was a British marmalade maker and wife of Frank Cooper .Sarah Cooper was born Sarah Jane Gill in Beoley, Worcestershire in 1848. In 1872 she got married in Clifton, Bristol to Frank Cooper of Oxford and they made their home at 31 Kingston Road, Oxford.In 1867 Frank had inherited...
(1848–1932), then aged 24, made 76 pounds (34.5 kg) of marmalade to her own recipe. The marmalade proved popular, and until 1903 was made at 83-84 High Street. Frank Cooper then moved production to a new purpose-built factory at 27 Park End Street
Park End Street
Park End Street is a street in central Oxford, England, to the west of the centre of the city, close to the railway station at its western end.-Location:...
. He retained the High Street premises as a shop until 1919, when he sold it to Twinings
Twinings
Twinings is a marketer of tea based in Andover, Hampshire, England.- History :The founder of Twinings, Thomas Twining, opened the first known tea room, at 216 Strand, London, in 1706, which is still operating today. The firm's logo, created in 1787, is one of the world's oldest in continuous use...
.
Park End Street
The Park End Street factory was designed by Oxford architect Herbert Quinton and built by long-established local builder Thomas Henry Kingerlee. The four-storey, 1630 square feet (151.4 m²) factory had separate floors for cutting fruit and bottling the finished product, and the third floor included a separate cloakroom and staff dining room for employees. Boiling the marmalade and jam was in a separate building at the back of the yard behind the main factory. Quinton designed the premises in compliance with the Factory and Workshop Act 1901, and the difficulty of complying with the Act at 83-84 High Street may have prompted the building of the new factory.The factory was strategically sited close to the stations and goods yards of both the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
at Rewley Road
Oxford Rewley Road railway station
Oxford Rewley Road railway station was a railway station serving the city of Oxford, England, located immediately to the north of what is now Frideswide Square on the site of the Saïd Business School. It was the terminus of the Buckinghamshire Railway, which was worked, and later absorbed, by the...
and the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
in Botley Road
Oxford railway station
Oxford railway station is a mainline railway station serving the city of Oxford, England. It is about west of the city centre, northwest of Frideswide Square and the eastern end of Botley Road, and on the line linking with . It is also on the line for trains between and Hereford via...
, making the delivery of fruit and sugar, distribution of marmalade and jam and business travel for company personnel, suppliers and trade customers as efficient as possible. Success of the business led to expansion of the factory in 1912, 1915, 1924 and 1925, using land between the 1903 building and the corner of Hollybush Row.
Frank Cooper's marmalade was especially popular with don
University don
A don is a fellow or tutor of a college or university, especially traditional collegiate universities such as Oxford and Cambridge in England.The term — similar to the title still used for Catholic priests — is a historical remnant of Oxford and Cambridge having started as ecclesiastical...
s and students in Oxford University
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. It was taken to Antarctica on Robert Falcon Scott
Robert Falcon Scott
Captain Robert Falcon Scott, CVO was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13...
's expedition to the South Pole
South Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...
. A jar was found buried in the ice many years after the ill-fated expedition.
Further moves and takeover
After the Second World WarWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Frank Cooper's bought the site of the ice rink and Majestic Cinema west of the railway stations on the north side of Botley Road
Botley Road
Botley Road is the main arterial road into Oxford, England from the west. It stretches between Botley, on the Oxford Ring Road to the west of the city, and Frideswide Square at the junction with Oxford railway station, close to central Oxford....
. A new factory was built on the site and the company moved production there from Park End Street.
Brown and Poulson Ltd. bought Frank Cooper's in 1964 and moved production away from Oxford in 1967, but retained the "Oxford" name for the marmalade.
In 1985 Frank Cooper's again leased 84 High Street, running it as a museum and shop. Production was not returned to Oxford and within a few years Frank Cooper's gave up the shop for a second time. Since 2001, 84 High Street has been marked by an Oxfordshire Blue Plaque commemorating Sarah Cooper's inception of Oxford Marmalade.
The former factory at 27 Park End Street (now part of Frideswide Square
Frideswide Square
Frideswide Square is a square to the west of central Oxford, England. The square is named after the patron saint of Oxford, St Frideswide.The "square" is actually triangular in shape. Immediately to the north, the modern Saïd Business School of Oxford University dominates the square, established in...
) survives and is now a listed building.