About
Thorntons
Established by Joseph William Thornton in 1911, Thorntons today is a £200m+ turnover company with 379 shops and cafés and around 200 franchises together with internet, mail order and commercial services.
The very first shop was opened in Sheffield by Joseph William Thornton, who handed the keys to his teenage sons Norman and Stanley and said: “Make this the best sweet shop in town!”
Over the next few years, as Thorntons got a name for itself, they created a uniquely rich and chewy ‘special’ toffee that became so popular it became the fuel of the city’s steelworkers. And later, just after the Second World War, they hired one of Europe’s finest chocolatiers, Walter Willem, to bring Europe’s finest soft-centred chocolates to the UK and created Continental.
Today, Thorntons are based in Derbyshire, employ some 4,000 chocolate lovers around the UK and are proud to be one of the best-loved and oldest names on the high street. They still make extra special toffee and are still famous for their delicious Continentals.
