Friary Mill was founded in Plymouth in 1988, by Philip Gardner and Karen Milner. Their vision was to provide the finest quality, handmade baked goods, at the best possible value to our customers, with the warmest and friendliest service. These founding principles still represent what Friary Mill stands for today.
As our reputation grew, we needed to expand to accommodate the growing demand for fresh, locally made products. To meet this demand, we relocated our production to a new site in Cattedown, Plymouth in 1998. We now have a total of thirteen Friary Mill stores across Plymouth and Ivybridge and operate seven retail vans. We are recognised as the destination of choice for handmade Devon pasties, freshly filled rolls, breakfast baps and hand crafted cakes and sweet treats.
We are proud of our local heritage and all of our fresh products are made right here, in our beautiful Ocean City, by our highly skilled team of Craft Bakers. We believe our team are the friendliest and most helpful team that you will find anywhere.
our history
our VALUES
Despite our growth, we remain as committed to our values as we did on day one.
We are passionate about the qualityof every product we make.
We will always strive to offer the best value for our customers.
We love our local communities and promise to give our customers the very best standards of service
Our people are our business and we are loyal, caring and compassionate.
At Friary Mill, we are passionate about our products and strive to ensure that only the best ingredients are used for our pasties, cakes and savouries.
We use local suppliers where possible and our fresh ingredients are delivered to our bakery daily. Our greengrocer brings us potatoes pulled straight from the ground; quality meat comes directly from a local butcher; and our pastry is handmade at our factory in Cattedown. Every single pasty is hand prepared and freshly baked every day to ensure you get the best possible product.
Some of the awards our products have achieved at the CBA Western Region Championships include:
Our Devon Steak Pasties won “Best in Class”
Our Fruit Cake also came an impressive 3rd place in its class
our produce
To create the best tasting products, not only should we use the best ingredients but we also need the best people to help us serve our loyal customers. We credit our success to the support and commitment of each and every member of the Friary Mill team.
We’re dedicated to supporting our colleagues, and recently launched the Friary Mill Academy – our new in-house training scheme which combines traditional, classroom based, in-person training with a bespoke online platform (developed in partnership with BSc Computing students at Plymouth University) to improve the skills of our team and to help create our future leaders.
We believe that learning is an ongoing process and a number of our colleagues have undertaken apprenticeships whilst working with us so that they have the opportunity to earn while they learn. One of our recent apprentices, Emma, was crowned “Champion Apprentice” at the CBA Western Region Bakery Championships in 2023; and our newest apprentice, Owen, achieved an amazing 2nd place in the Rising Baker (Under 25) category at the Championships in 2026.
our PEOPLE
We want you to get to know our team, so we have started our Featured Colleague section to introduce you to a different member of the Friary Mill family each month.
This month’s Featured Colleague is Sue, who works in our Oakfield Place store in Cattedown. Here’s what Sue has to say:
“I started working for Friary Mill in September 2022 as I wanted to become part of a good team. Before starting at Friary Mill, I was a registered childminder and had also been a healthcare assistant in residential homes across the city.
My day-to-day role is to provide an all round experience for our customers - this includes serving, making hot drinks and breakfast baps and working on the till.
My favourite thing about working for Friary Mill is being part of a “family”, the support from all staff members is second to none! My favourite Friary Mill products are the NEW Cheese Melt Sausage Roll and the salted caramel ring doughnut.
Outside of work, I enjoy reading and watching detective thrillers, including true crime documentaries. Amongst doing puzzles and adult colouring books, I enjoy spending time with our extended family and making memories.”
Keep an eye out for our next featured colleague – coming soon!
our featured colleague
our community
We love our local communities and promise to give our customers the best standards of service. We support many local charities with fundraising efforts and provide our products for events. Any unsold products at the end of each day are donated to Help for the Homeless Plymouth at The Garage Cafe
We are also proud sponsors of:
Theatre Royal Plymouth
Plymouth Argyle FC
Olivia Francis – Plymouth Argyle Women FC Player
Devonport Services RFC
Green Taverners
