Where have all the bakers (and traditional grocery staples of your youth) gone? (Long time passing). 🍰🍞🥧

[butcher]

Sold to another family by the time I grew up.
Co-incidently, you may recognise the High Street from the Little Red Hen, where the 'Bakers@ was actually Reg Langtrees Butchers.

 

[hash tag]

Noakes bakery Swansea is closing after 100+ years (also a link to another closure in story ) Cost of living: 109-year-old bakery closes due to rising costs

 

[Puddy_Tat]

NB this was my GG Grandfathers Bakery in Kensington, he drank them into poverty eventually

Wow @butcher Look at the flags and stuff! Amazing. Is the building still there?

I reckon this is the same place

I'm a bit late to this, but yes, 11 Kensington High Street.

'feel' of the photo is 1890s.

Can't get an exact match on the neighbours from the london street directories that have been digitised and in public domain, but -

1882



1895



1910



(and not there in 1841)

 

[moose]

Those lists are fantastic - court dressmaker, complexion specialist and American confectioners - would have loved a mosey along the street.

 

[butcher]

I'm a bit late to this, but yes, 11 Kensington High Street.

'feel' of the photo is 1890s.

Can't get an exact match on the neighbours from the london street directories that have been digitised and in public domain, but -

1882

View attachment 361988

1895

View attachment 361989

1910

View attachment 361990

(and not there in 1841)

BRILLIANT THANK YOU!

I will ping across to Mum, she will be chuffed.

 

[The39thStep]

For those of you with access to Twitter this is a good thread on the disappearance of local shops

 

[pinkmonkey]

Anyone remember Three Cooks bakery? It was a chain. When I worked in Stylo in the Merrion centre in Leeds in the 80's all our lunches came from there, a sandwich and a vanilla slice. When I was down South (and when I was younger and could still tolerate wheat ) I loved to get a sausage roll from Percy Ingles. I also loved Dorringtons bakery in Sawbridgeworth, it's still going!

 

[hash tag]

Oh dear Crumb of comfort? Dorset baker wins £15k after being sacked for holey bread

 

[hash tag]

They're not. They're both artisan and chains. And AFAIK blackbird doesn't sell bread.

Bread — BLACKBIRD BAKERY

www.blackbirdbakerylondon.co.uk

What I have just realised is Blackbird have shops at Streatham and Balham and South East from here, whereas Cavan has a shop in Wimbledon and West of there.
Both are similar sized small chains. I wonder if there is some sort of agreement between them?

 

[High Voltage]

We've still got a local bakers in Sunny Shepton Mallet . . . Danela's Bakery . . . home of the Shepton Bun, which is a true baking delight, a cross between a:-

• rock cake for general appearance
• fruit scone
• doughy, like a hot cross bun
• Christmassy spices

Best eaten, split, lightly toasted, with butter num num num

 

[spitfire]

Bread — BLACKBIRD BAKERY

www.blackbirdbakerylondon.co.uk

What I have just realised is Blackbird have shops at Streatham and Balham and South East from here, whereas Cavan has a shop in Wimbledon and West of there.
Both are similar sized small chains. I wonder if there is some sort of agreement between them?

Cavan is in Shepperton, I’m on my way there now. It’s a very fine bakers.

 

[philosophical]

I don’t like the prices or the attitude of the staff in any Gail’s I have been stupid enough to venture into.
At the prices they charge the fuckers could at least be a bit polite.

 

[hash tag]

I don’t like the prices or the attitude of the staff in any Gail’s I have been stupid enough to venture into.
At the prices they charge the fuckers could at least be a bit polite.

Staff in a chain store.

 

[newme]

We have a butchers, shop with fresh veg also bakes breads, pasties, etc, fishmongers, post office/newsagent.

So I think they all came here.

 

[quiet guy]

We've still got a local bakers in Sunny Shepton Mallet . . . Danela's Bakery . . . home of the Shepton Bun, which is a true baking delight, a cross between a:-

• rock cake for general appearance
• fruit scone
• doughy, like a hot cross bun
• Christmassy spices

Best eaten, split, lightly toasted, with butter num num num

Also providing bakery goods at Glastonbury Festival

 

[Elpenor]

There is still a non artisan local baker on Bedford high street which does Bedfordshire Clangers along with decent white and brown loaves.View attachment 340413

View attachment 340414

Bedfordshire clangers were featured on radio 4s the kitchen cabinet from around 18:30 onwards yesterday

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Bought a loaf of seedy bread from a small chain bakery the other day and it came with one of those square plastic bag ties that used to be ubiquitous when I was young - not seen those for years.

 

[iona]

Still mostly local bakeries, butchers etc up here. They tend to have their own shop or two in somewhere like Kirkwall or Stromness but they also do regular deliveries to all the local shops. Even the big Tesco's in town has a shelf for one of the local bakers that seems to be at least as popular as their own in-store bakery stuff. We don't really have any of the big chains like Greggs.

Both my local shops sell stuff from at least three Orkney bakeries, two local butchers and Pierowall Fish who also do frozen stuff like patties and readymade fish pies. Wide range of standard items like proper bread, the usual Scottish bridies, tattie scones etc and also more local things like bere bannock and fatty cutties. Eggs and tatties mostly come from local farms and shops always make a point of advertising when other fruit and veg is from here too.

 

[hash tag]

Traditional baker? We went in to the Lockdown bakery this morning for breakfast. They had a decent selection of breads, pastry's and cakes for sale as well as breakfasts and coffees. It was good to see them sited opposite a Gails and doing well.

 

[tim]

We had Percy Ingles in East London until recently. Did decent bread, smashing pastries and great doughnuts. It was cheap and cheerful but was more suited to the community than the sourdough bakeries that are all that exist now. scifisam and Rebelda

View attachment 340412

I though they were a bit shit. A second rate Greg's rather than a decent local Baker. Perhaps it was just the one in the Stratford Meridien Shopping Centre.

My sister used to live next to this bakery in Sutton which is excellent as long as you don't need anything after half past two.

Google Search

 

[Epona]

I though they were a bit shit. A second rate Greg's rather than a decent local Baker. Perhaps it was just the one in the Stratford Meridien Shopping Centre.

Their sausage rolls were always gristly, compared to the smooth texture of the Greggs ones.
And yeah very much not a local baker, massive London chain (gone now ofc)

 

[spitfire]

I only ever saw Percy ingle in east London.

The sausage rolls weren’t the best but their bread was good old fashioned regular bread and I liked it. And some filthy pastries.

 

[Epona]

I only ever saw Percy ingle in east London.

The sausage rolls weren’t the best but their bread was good old fashioned regular bread and I liked it. And some filthy pastries.

Yes, East London and Essex chain - there was a point when wherever you were in the areas they covered, you were probably never more than 15 minutes walk from a branch

I liked their bloomer loaves.
Then they went bust, and Greggs had already stopped selling bread loaves and rolls at that point in favour of focussing on sarnies/pastries/doughnuts/hot drinks, leaving a lot of areas without any affordable bakery.

 

[hash tag]

My sister used to live next to this bakery in Sutton which is excellent as long as you don't need anything after half past two

Most decent bakers should be sold out around then and that's when they would close. I know Birds, a small chain near Derby close when sold out.
It's a traditional French boulangerie thing.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Percy Ingles had a few branches south of the river - there was one in catford, almost under the cat



(2019 street view image)

i'm not sure when they opened it, it went on fire in 2020 not that long before the whole chain closed.

 

[oryx]

Percy Ingles had a few branches south of the river - there was one in catford, almost under the cat

View attachment 460135

(2019 street view image)

i'm not sure when they opened it, it went on fire in 2020 not that long before the whole chain closed.

I always meant to try the Lewisham one, but glad I didn't after reading Epona's comment about the grisly sausage rolls!

 

[Epona]

I always meant to try the Lewisham one, but glad I didn't after reading Epona's comment about the grisly sausage rolls!

They were also really over-herbed and over-peppered too, now I don't mind a bit of herbs and seasoning, but it always felt like they were trying to cover up the sausagemeat a bit.
Greggs sausage rolls far superior.

 

[brogdale]

Went past a local, independent Bakers today, saw these and thought of you lot on here; I bet some of you think these are acceptable rolls and fit for human consumption. This is very much not a one-off, they always have a tray of burnt, crusty rolls for sale. Yes, they deliberately bake them like this and some weirdoes obviously buy them! WTAF.

 

[Sue]

Went past a local, independent Bakers today, saw these and thought of you lot on here; I bet some of you think these are acceptable rolls and fit for human consumption. This is very much not a one-off, they always have a tray of burnt, crusty rolls for sale. Yes, they deliberately bake them like this and some weirdoes obviously buy them! WTAF.

View attachment 461044

Well fired. It's definitely a thing that people ask for/want.

 

[brogdale]

Well fired. It's definitely a thing that people ask for/want.

Really?
Well, I suppose that has to be right, otherwise they wouldn't produce them. So this gives the independent a 'unique selling point' over the pap available in the big shops?

What do people like about burnt rolls, though?