Gaymer Cider Company - History

History

Quite when the Gaymer family started selling cider is impossible to determine exactly. An advertisement of theirs in 1875 describes themselves as being “established upwards of two centuries”, one of 1883 “established nearly two centuries”, a 1961 newspaper report talks of “more than 300 years” and a modern bar towel has the phrase “established 1770” on it . One source tells us that Robert Gaymer moved with his family from Starston to Banham in 1784 where he farmed “and produced the first identifiable Gaymer cider”. His son John, “Long” John as he was known, due to his height of 6 ft. 10½in., continued the cider-making, and indeed an advertisement from “The Bury and Norwich Post” of 26 May 1800 tells us that he had inherited the trade secrets of his father-in-law Joseph Chapman which were “the result of the last ten years practice and experience” and that “The cydermaking business is carried on by the said John Gaymer at Banham aforesaid, by whom all orders will be thankfully received, and readily executed”. Joseph Chapman was describing himself as a “cyder merchant” in 1781. “Long” John was buried in Banham churchyard in 1843.

The entry for Banham in White’s Directory for 1845 makes no mention of cider, and William Gaymer is simply listed as a “victualler” at The Crown, but The Post Office Directory for 1846 describes him as landlord of The Crown, “cyder manufacturer” and farmer, and White’s for 1854 as a “victualler and cider manufacturer”. In 1864 he is still at The Crown but is now, perhaps reflecting the changing emphasis of his business, a “cider manufacturer and victualler”, and is still a farmer. By 1868 our William Gaymer is listed as “Wm. Gaymer (senior)” and William Gaymer (junior) is a farmer.

It was William Gaymer, junior (1842 -1936) who built up the family business to the point at which it employed 400 men, had a London office, a Royal Warrant and a lively export trade, and was a household name. In 1870 he introduced a hydraulic press and began to produce the cider even more commercially for the home market and export. By the late nineteenth century Gaymers had won seven awards at Royal Agricultural Shows and The Royal Horticultural Society’s Silver Banksian Medal.

In 1896 Gaymers moved their business to the nearby town of Attleborough, where the factory had its own railway siding. Because of the rapid expansion Gaymer had difficulty obtaining enough apples of the right quality and variety and established contact with a number of suppliers in Devon. In 1903 the entire apple crop in Britain was a failure: to avert disaster Gaymer set off for Canada by ship and bought enough apples for that year’s production.

In 1961, Showerings of Shepton Mallet bought the company. After Showerings subsequently merged with Allied Breweries in 1968, the cider business was demerged under via management buyout in the late 1970s, in a new company called Gaymer Group. The Attleborough factory was saved from threatened closure in 1973. In 1990, Gaymer Group was acquired by Matthew Clark plc, production was transferred to Shepton Mallet. With modern techniques the new owners were able to carry on making the distinctive Gaymer's cider in Somerset without affecting the distinctive taste. The Attleborough factory finally closed its doors in 1995.