Longhope Bakery, the Green's Bakery at Huntley and Ivy Cotta (General)

by hawkyboy, Sunday, July 26, 2015, 08:56 (3419 days ago) @ Mike Pinchin

Hello Mike
You are a star coming up with this, but for me this is a conundrum.

I was brought up believing the business was sold - certainly the bakery side. This was plausible because this was the domain of Charlie Green, my grandfather. He died around Feb 1959 and the bakery and rounds were sold to Wonderloaf - or so I was regularly told by my grandmother. This pre dates the liquidation. But I wonder if Charlie had sold up before he died, during 1958 is a possibility.

But the selling up, and any links with Longhope Bakery, are unknown areas to me.

The business had vans. and I do not know if these were sold or transferred to the grocery business. The bakery and grocery were separate but inter linked businesses.

I am wondering if things went rapidly down hill from 1958-9, or if Wonderloaf were just buying up a local competitor to close it down, or run it into the ground.

Equally, the liquidation may have been for the grocery business. This was the domain of the other brother, Frances Luther, known as "Santy". I sense that Charlie had little input into this - the bakery side was his forte, or responsibility.

After liquidation, I think a Mr and Mrs Brown bought the business. I am guessing the liquidator put the business to auction. I do not think the bakery operated thereafter, which again ties in with the Wonderloaf story. On reflection, there would have been a local demand for bread and cakes, and people did rate highly the quality of the baking.

So one of the next steps is does anyone know if my recollection of Mr and Mrs Brown is correct?

Thank you again for your help.