Francis Thomas Cooper (1811–1862) was originally a hatter and hosier with a shop at 46 High Street, Oxford.

[4][5] In 1874 Frank Cooper's wife Sarah-Jane (1848–1932), made 76 pounds (34 kg) of marmalade to her own recipe.

[4] The Park End Street factory was designed by Oxford architect Herbert Quinton and built by long-established local builder Thomas Henry Kingerlee.

[6] The factory was strategically sited close to the stations and goods yards of both the London and North Western Railway at Rewley Road and the Great Western Railway in Botley Road, making the delivery of fruit and sugar, distribution of marmalade and jam and business travel for company personnel, suppliers and trade customers as efficient as possible.

Success of the business led to expansion of the factory in 1912, 1915, 1924 and 1925,[7] using land between the 1903 building and the corner of Hollybush Row.

'[8] After the Second World War Frank Cooper's bought the site of the ice rink and Majestic Cinema west of the railway stations on the north side of Botley Road.

[4] Since 2001, 84 High Street has been marked by an Oxfordshire Blue Plaque commemorating Sarah Cooper's inception of Oxford Marmalade.

[13] "The Jam Factory" also houses Guardian Award-winning[citation needed] charity, "My Life My Choice" run by and for people with learning disabilities.