The company was founded in mid 1980's. When the current owners purchased it in 1988 the company specialised in Vegetarian and Frozen products. The frozen lines were expensive to produce, so the company looked to developing ambient cake lines, which were very popular and the flapjacks were the most popular of all. The company concentrated on expanding the range of flapjack flavours from 1990 onwards and by 1994 we had started renting the factory space next door as the company was growing. Blackfriars had introduced an unprecedented twenty plus new flavours, increasing product popularity and becoming one of the first companies to establish U.K. wide sales of flapjacks.

In 1995 a limited company was formed, trading as Blackfriars Bakery. The product range also started to expand with the introduction of Muffins, Cookies and Cake slices. Blackfriars led the way, through research and innovation, in extending the shelf life of its products. We recognised that for small retail and snack bar outlets lacking refrigerated display space, a product with a good shelf life at ambient temperature would be advantageous. In 2000, as the need for storage became more apparent, Blackfriars started renting a warehouse across the road. In 2004 another warehouse next door to the other was rented. Blackfriars now had separate warehousing for ingredients and finished goods. In 2003 Blackfriars purchased another company and renamed it Fudge Factory, a company that specialise in Tray Bakes, Individually wrapped bars and cookies, expanding the product range further, giving customers more variety.

Company Name & Area

Why Blackfriars? Like many companies we have adopted the name of our location. Until early 2009, Blackfriars Bakery was based at Blackfriars House on Blackfriars Street in the Blackfriars area of Leicester City Centre.

What's in a name? There is a lot of history surrounding the Blackfriars name and area. The Blackfriars area is located to the West Side of the city of Leicester, the area is thought to be the location of the first human settlement in Leicester. It was the capital of the Iron Age Celtic Corieltauvi tribe who ruled over most of what is today, the East Midlands. When the Romans invaded Britain in the 1st Century they built a military fort in the area next to the river soar and along a Roman road called the Fosse Way, the settlement was known as Ratae Corieltauvorum.

Leicester grew as a market town and by the Middle ages the town had been walled off. In the north west corner there was a Dominican Friary, which was established in the 13th century. The religious followers of the friary were part of the Dominican order also called Dominicans or as they were know in England, Blackfriars.

They were called Blackfriars because of the black cloak they wore. The Blackfriars remained in Leicester until 1538 when the Dominican Friary was surrendered to the king. The area retained the name Blackfriars although it was mainly uninhabited until the 19th century, when the grand union canal was built using the channels of the river Soar. This led to many new buildings and factories being constructed and by 1831 there were over a thousand people living in the Blackfriars area.

By the turn of the 20th Century industry was booming due to the construction of the Great Central Railway in 1899, which ran from London to the north. Blackfriars now had a national rail link with a station running straight through the middle of the area as well as major canal network to the West Bank.

During the construction of the great central railway a Roman mosaic pavement was found, which was named the Blackfriars Mosaic. It was preserved under the railway in a chamber, the entrance of which is next door to our former bakery, it remained there until 1976 when it was moved just round the corner to the Jewry wall museum. The main feature of the museum is the ruins of a roman bathhouse. After the closure of the Railway in 1969, industry in the area began to decline. Over the next few decades, the hosiery trade had began to move overseas and factories were moving to industrial estates on the outskirts of the city close to the motorways, although several businesses still remained, including ourselves.

By the early 21st century as the demand for inner city housing had increased the area was earmarked for regeneration, hoping to create a brand new riverside area for the city of Leicester. 2006 saw the first of the riverside regeneration, with the construction of 2 residential tower blocks on Bath Lane. There are plans to regenerate the whole area, which includes the construction of a 39-story tower on Bath Lane opposite Blackfriars Street, this would make it the tallest building in Leicester and the East Midlands. The plans however have been put on temporary hold due to the current economic climate. These regeneration plans are the reason why in 2007 Blackfriars Bakery started to move from its original home in the Blackfriars area of Leicester to the outskirts of the city and into the town of Wigston. The relocation was complete by March 2009.

Relocating Blackfriars & the Future

The warehouses we were renting were sold to developers for regeneration and were set for demolition. We took the decision to relocate the whole company. After finding suitable premises in the town of Wigston, 4 miles from our original location, we started to move the company in 2007.

As our warehouse was set to be demolished, this was the first to move in mid 2007. Blackfriars Bakery was then split between two sites for nearly 2 years, as refurbishment's were made to the new building, which included a brand new warehouse with access directly into the new production area. In the summer of 2008 our offices were moved to the new site, and after the completion of our new production area, the production staff followed in early 2009.

We now have extra production space and warehouse storage, as well as improved facilities and machinery. These will help us to make and stock more of the current products as well as developing new lines. Once again as the company has done before, we will be expanding our range further, to give customers more variety and more healthy eating.