Food Industry Legends – Percy Bulmer
As a child, Percy Bulmer was so asthmatic that he was unable to attend school. Once grown, but without qualifications and finding it hard to find employment he determined to establish a business that he could run himself.
He settled on cider production. His reasoning was threefold: his father, the Reverend C H Bulmer had written a book on local varieties of apple and pear, his mother had advised him that any business to do with eating and drinking would be successful as these activities “do not go out of fashion” and he had the helpful support of Dr Hogg, the founder of The Journal of Horticulture to which the Reverend Bulmer was a frequent contributor.
In 1887, with apples from his father’s orchard and an old stone press, Percy made his first cider. He was soon joined in business by his elder brother Fred, fresh from Cambridge. To join Percy, Fred turned down the post of tutor to the King of Siam’s children, leaving the job free for Anna Leonowens, on whose memoirs the film The King and I was based. With a loan from their father, the brothers bought some land in Hereford and built their first cider mill. The staff of the business at this time, consisted of one old man, Thomas Kennett. He could neither read nor write but was a loyal worker.
Cider making was initially a haphazard business with the fermentation process reliant totally upon the wild yeast in the apple. However, in the 1890’s, a college friend of Fred’s, Dr Herbert Durham, was able to isolate this wild yeast and produce a pure cider yeast culture which would henceforth provide consistent results for all fermentations. This development was to be the foundation of commercial cider making.
Percy was keen to learn more about the science of cider making and in 1890 travelled to Rheims and Epernay. He spent time with various champagne houses learning about the production of good cider and brought back literature on wine and cider making.
By 1891, The Bulmers Cider Company covered eight acres. Their famous “Woodpecker” brand was introduced in 1897 and in 1906, Percy’s experiences in France led to the production of Cider de Luxe, later renamed Pomagne, which proved hugely successful.
Bulmers were awarded the Royal Warrant in 1911 for their cider and continue today as Cider Maker to her Majesty, the Queen. In 1918, Percy lost both his father and his son, Godfrey. Percy himself was terminally ill and so the Bulmer brothers decided to turn their partnership into a limited company with £70,000 in £1 shares. ¾ of the shares were held by Fred and Percy as governing directors; loyal employees and family were offered the rest.
In 1919, Percy died and control of Bulmers passed to Fred. The next generations of the Bulmer family continued to run the company until 2003 when its sale to Scottish and Newcastle Breweries for £278 million ended 116 years of independent cider making. back to top
