It all began in a small grocery shop in Bolton, which Thomas and Ellen decided to set-up. (By the way, we still own this shop and it can be found on Blackburn Road, right across the road from Warburtons HQ).
After a slump in the grocery trade, Ellen has the brainwave to bake bread. Her first batch sells out in under an hour and within 2 weeks they decide to rename the shop ‘Warburtons the bakers’.
Thomas sees the benefits of a family run business and asks his nephew, Henry, to bring youth and energy to the company.
Business begins to boom as the Diamond Jubilee Bakery opens, just a stone's throw from the original shop.
The Warburtons company is incorporated and we take delivery of our 1st ever semi-auto wrapping machine. This helps us meet the increasing demand.
Through his years of hard work, Henry Warburton becomes a respected local figure and is made mayor of Bolton.
The great Henry Warburton passes away. With the Model Bakery starting to become a little outdated, we take arrival of the Simplex Continuous Oven and are consequently tagged ‘the most modern bakery in Lancashire’.
The family-run ethos continues with the 4th generation of Warburtons taking the reins. Faith is also put into modern technology with the installation of state of the art equipment.
The family business gathers momentum with the purchase of several smaller bakeries. Derrick Warburton continues to put emphasis on producing quality products – something that remains at the heart of our business today.
Our business has now grown to 4 bakeries and our specially baked Milk Roll, hits the shelves – which, over 40 years later, is still a firm favourite in households up and down the country.
The only way is up for Warburtons, with plans for even more bakeries now in place. The first, finding home in Burnley.
To boost capacity, a brand new bread plant is installed at our Bolton bakery.
It’s been non-stop hard work, but we reach the incredible milestone of 100 years service. So we all take time out, and raise a glass or two.
Having expanded across the North West, the family see the benefits of stretching further afield. First stop, Wakefield in West Yorkshire.
After dedicating their energies into the family business for so many years, the 4th generation of Warburtons step back from the day to day running of the business.
Hot on the heels of the Wakefield bakery, we open one in Newcastle.
The 5th, and current generation of the Warburton family, takes full control of the business, with the aim of raising standards even higher in the coming years.
Having opened bakeries in the North of England, we expand into the midlands, starting with Nottingham.
Scotland is our next target for expansion, with the opening of a bakery in Bellshill.
There’s no place like home. Which is why we returned to Bolton, to build a bakery specialising in hand-crafted style breads.
Wednesbury, West Midlands, becomes the home of our latest bakery and production across our whole range increases further.
Jonathan Warburton steps up to take the role of chairman and in the same year, we celebrate another milestone – our 125th anniversary. Cue even more raised glasses.
The launch of our 11th site in Enfield, North London, is marked when HRH Duke of Edinburgh, opens the bakery.
Just as we complete phase 2 of the bakery in Bellshill, work begins on a new super bakery in Yorkshire. It promises to be a busy few months.
This was a huge year for us. While we’ve been steadily growing over the past 130 or years or so, demand from customers was still outweighing supply. Which meant there was a huge sigh of relief when our 3 new bakeries finally opened. The bakeries in question were in Stockton, Newport and our super bakery in Tuscany Park, Yorkshire – which is also home to a visitor centre, that charts our entire history.
We decide to shuffle our pack and make more changes to our management structure. Robert Higginson steps up to MD and Brett Warburton begins a new role as Executive Director.
Our new depot in Newton Abbot begins distributing products in the South West, and we enter our 131st year. It’s onwards and upwards for Warburtons!
We started building our latest super bakery on the outskirts of Bristol. This will be our 14th bakery and is expected to open December 2008.