Can you believe it’s been over 100 years since Joseph William Thornton opened his little chocolate shop on Norfolk Street in Sheffield in 1911.

Saying that Joseph actually kept his job and handed the keys over to his eldest son Norman, who was just 14 at the time, and he told him to ‘make it the best sweet shop in town’. Surely that must be the best job in the world for a teenager and he really was like a big kid in a sweet shop. He didn’t do a bad job either as within two years Joseph opened another shop in Sheffield and it’s been growing ever since.

Over the next few years, Norman’s brother Stanley joined him to run the shops in Sheffield and Thorntons got a bit of a name for itself. The boys created a lovely rich and chewy ‘special’ toffee, that became so popular all the city’s steelworkers ate it. And you know what, our Special Toffee today is still based on that same recipe.

Today, we call Alfreton in Derbyshire our home after we moved our chocolate factory here in the mid 80s. There are now over 3,500 chocolate lovers who work in our stores, our factory and our head office and we’re really proud to be one of the best-loved and oldest names on the high street. But we haven’t forgotten our roots. We still make our extra special toffee and we’re still famous for our delicious Continentals. Over the years we’ve created lots of other wonderful chocolates too and we will continue to create those delicious treats to make everyone smile for many more years to come

Confectionary Expertise, Manufacturing, Retail.

Thorntons is located in the Frinton-on-Sea area of Essex. There are at least 10 other listings in the CO13 postcode area.

Decorators in Essex CO13

Number of Employees: 1001-5000