Welcome to Ravens Bakery.
Established in 1991 by Giselle Hyland, Ravens Bakery has been creating beautiful confectionary and freshly baked artisan bread for over 25 years.
In 2017, the business was taken over by Giselle’s daughter, Jessica and her husband Jon who have seen it grow from strength to strength including refurbishment of the shop and creation of a family-friendly garden for customers to enjoy.
We take pride in maintaining a sustainable and healthy business, avoiding waste or preservatives in our food. We only source our ingredients from trustworthy partners and work with local farms and businesses to recycle leftover cakes and bread.
As a local business, we care about our community. We are continuously updating and expanding our gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan lines to accommodate dietary requirements and during the Covid-19 pandemic, we created a free home-delivery service, ensuring all those isolating were able to access necessities.
Located at the back of the building there was an area where Mr Raven made bread for the residents of the village. He would travel around the village delivering the bread using his horse and cart as the shop now did not exist then.
Sidney Raven and his uncle Henry worked long hours 6am to 6pm with an hour break in the morning for breakfast and a break at lunch time. One evening during the war in 1914-18, after Sidney Raven and his bakers went home a military office called in to see Mr Raven. The food supplies had not arrived in the village and demanded 100 quartern loaves to be made for the troops by the morning. Mr Raven had to rally his bakers back to the bakery to supply the troops. They worked all night with no rest and were exhausted. The bread was made in large bowls which they mixed with wooden panels then they left to prove and bake in brick coal ovens.
The Ravens family kept the bakery tradition throughout 4 generations.
In the 1980 s Mr Lacey took over the bakery business which was still owned by the raven family. He found the metal cart in the barn which was last used in the 1950s. within 5 years it was restored.
Giselle Hyland Takes Ownership of Ravens Bakery and has been creating beautiful confectionary and freshly baked artisan bread
the business was taken over by Giselle’s daughter, Jessica and her husband Jon who have seen it grow from strength to strength including refurbishment of the shop and creation of a family-friendly garden for customers to enjoy.
In 2024, Jess and the incredible team at Ravens Bakery proudly won County Winner – Essex at the National Bakery Awards, celebrating their passion, craft, and dedication to baking excellence.
Here at Ravens, we are passionate about creating great-tasting, freshly baked produce. All our goods are baked on the premises by our highly skilled bakers who work through the night, so our customers enjoy fresh bread and cakes every day.
For those special occasions, our in-house confectioner creates custom-made celebration cakes, and we are always happy to offer advice and ideas to suit your requirements.
We create a wide range of artisan bread, from gorgeous sourdough to gluten-free bread which you can purchase from our shops in Ingatestone or Billericay. In addition, we offer wholesale to local businesses including bakeries, schools, butchers, pubs, and wedding venues.
If you’re not in a rush, why not visit our coffee shop in Ingatestone, where you can enjoy coffee, breakfast, lunch or just one of our delicious cakes whilst watching the bustling village life. For families or those who want a quieter atmosphere, we also have our recently refurbished patio area, complete with a playhouse and shaded seating.
