Jones was born in Monmouth, (Trefynwy) in Wales and established a bakery in Broadmead, Bristol. He was granted a patent for self-raising flour in 1845, and by the end of 1846 its runaway success led to him being appointed purveyor of patent flour and biscuits to Queen Victoria. He was granted a patent in the USA on 1 May 1849, and in 1852 the first gold medal for the new flour was issued to a Chicago firm using the Bristol formula.