Barlow and Parker, Tamworth Road, Croydon

This is primarily the story of a man who served in the First World War, bought a small sweet shop in Tamworth Road, Croydon, and then went into wholesaling. With the help of an acquaintance, he used his initiative and expanded the business so that Barlow & Parker eventually became what was probably one of the largest wholesale confectioners in the south of England.

John James Barlow was born in Leeds in 1891 and moved around with the family to various places in both England and Scotland until the 1914-18 war began, when, like most other men, he joined the army. He met Ada Louisa Harfitt and married her in 1916 at St. Anne's Church, Thorburn Square, Bermondsey and they set up home in nearby Rolls Road. Their first son, John Frederick, was born in 1918. Soon afterwards, the first link in the chain that was to lead to a career in confectionery fell into place. In 1920 John James and Ada bought a small sweet and tobacco shop at 70 Tamworth Road, Croydon from a Miss Emily Nigh for £300, and the Barlows initially lived above it.

Not a man to let things idle along, John James then added a second link to his chain - he decided to go into wholesaling, and in 1924 bought another shop at the end of the same terrace, 63 Tamworth Road. He ran this with the help of his sister Maud, who presumably looked after the premises there whilst he took out his small van on visits to retailers. Ada continued to look after the retail shop at no. 70 for a year or so with the help of relations.

John James had already made the acquaintance of Albert C. J. Parker who at that time kept a small sweet shop with his wife Ethel Gladys "Queenie" (née Betteridge) at 43 Portland Road, South Norwood, and they agreed to join forces. It is probable that the two men met whilst John James was visiting the Parker shop on his rounds. Albert Parker had been a ship's steward and happened to be very good at carpentry, so he was soon busy erecting shelving in the outbuildings behind no. 63 to hold the ever-growing stock. Around 1926, John James was able to buy 25 Tamworth Road almost opposite the original shop for the wholesaling side of the business and within a year gave up number 63 – things were growing.

By then, the Barlow family had grown apace as, apart from a second son, Douglas, who was born in 1920, twin daughters, Aileen and Nancy, joined the throng in 1926. Space above the shop must have been at a premium and it is hardly surprising that, in 1926, the Barlows bought a house in Richmond Road, Thornton Heath. Their stay turned out to be quite short for in 1930, a newly-built house at 32 Addington Road, Sanderstead became their new home – and remained as such until 1966. The house at Richmond Road then became the home of Maud who had married William Osborne, he, in due course, became the firm's senior van salesman. After 1926 the original retail shop at 70 Tamworth Road was run by Dorothy Elizabeth ("Dolly"), a sister of Maud's husband William Osborne who later married Herbert Whittle; she ran the shop until the late 1950s or early 1960s. It continues to trade as a small corner shop.

On the business side of things, the firm had become "Barlow & Parker" by 1929, and John James' brothers (Walter, Fred and Sidney) joined it. In the world of wholesale confectionery, Barlow & Parker was fast becoming a force to be reckoned with, and its fleet of vehicles each with its own driver/salesman became a common sight in the area. In 1934 it was incorporated as a limited company (with the number 296183). The range of products increased so that by the mid-1930s 125 manufacturers supplied the firm, not only with a whole selection of the more usual goods but also with ice cream cones and wafers, toys, balloons, stationery and pens, caps and toy revolvers, water pistols, matches, postcards, flags, fishing equipment, and even fireworks. Catalogues for these years show that the delivery area covered 157 places stretching from Aldershot, Camberley, Dorking and Guildford in the west, to Bexley and St. Mary Cray in the east, and to East Grinstead in the south. Deliveries were made on specific days although customers in the local area could expect daily deliveries, whilst those further afield had weekly ones. The vans by then had become, in effect, salesrooms on wheels so that goods were displayed to the retailers on their own doorsteps. The salesmen were practical people who were willing to give advice to those just beginning in the trade to help with their careers. Barlow & Parker even offered some confectionery of its own making such as sherbet suckers and fountains, "Lickem & Likems", giant lemon dabs. The daughter of Alex Robertson, the firm's engineer up to 1939, recalls that, apart from his normal work, he made the Barlow & Parker sherbet fountains on the premises.

Of course, by their very nature, confectionery products call for careful storage and handling, and maybe to help with this need, the decision was then taken to have a new building erected in Tamworth Road using the site of not only no. 25 but 27, 28 and 29 as well, together with the land behind. A rather splendid design was agreed for the new warehouse frontage in what we would now call "Art Deco" style, with glazed tiles on the fascia; quite the thing to attract customers to a firm with such a growing reputation, and to catch the eye of passengers on the passing trolleybuses. Work began on 2 September 1936 and was completed on 14 January 1938. The firm could now look ahead with confidence – everything seemed fine.

Yet war clouds were gathering again, and once the Second World War had begun and was obviously not going to end quickly, it was probably inevitable that rationing of sweets would be introduced; general rationing of food, clothing, furniture and petrol started on 8 January 1940, but sweets were not rationed until 26 July 1942. The industry was to pay a price for this late introduction of restrictions for, perhaps incredibly, although the war ended in 1945/46, sweet rationing continued until as late as April 1949 – and sad to say even then demand outstripped supply so that restrictions had to be re-introduced. Sweet rationing was not abolished until 5 February 1953 when at long last, people were once again able to buy as they wished. This had a dramatic effect on the confectionery market and spending is recorded as jumping from £150 million a year to £250 million in the first year. Two of John James' brothers, Fred and Sidney, had left the firm soon after the start of the war, although Walter remained and was manager for many years. Douglas, the younger son, joined in 1946 and John Frederick in March 1948; he re-started the manufacture of children's confectionery which had been curtailed by rationing.

On 2 November 1952 a crime was committed on the roof of the main warehouse. Two youths had attempted to break-in but were spotted and police arrived to arrest them. Unfortunately, one policeman (D.C. Frederick Fairfax of Elm Park Gardens, Selsdon) was shot and injured, and after a number of other shots were fired, another (P.C. Sidney Miles of Tower View, Shirley), was killed. Christopher Craig was subsequently found guilty of the murder but being under 18 years of age, was sent to prison. Derek Bentley, being older, was sentenced to death and although he had not fired the shots, he was duly hanged. The case became famous and was used as a strong reason for calling for the abolition of capital punishment. The Barlow family were very shocked and devastated by this sad incident on the roof of their building; in fact, John James (who was already in poor health) died quite suddenly on 18 December 1953, a mere 62 years old. He was buried in the churchyard of All Saints', Sanderstead; his obituary mentions not only his success with the firm but also that he was a prominent member of the Croydon Rotary Club.

It was not long before Albert Parker wanted to gain complete control of the firm and he dismissed both John Frederick and Douglas, although half of the share of the business was paid to John James's wife Ada. John Frederick and Douglas decided to start their own factory at Edenbridge; then Walter left Barlow & Parker and all three started a wholesale business in Worthing. John Frederick thought it logical to combine both businesses under one roof and thus the manufacturing was transferred to Worthing. Walter had to retire due to ill-health and moved to New Zealand, Douglas died in 2002 whilst John Frederick still resides in Worthing.

In the 1960s, the firm became part of Singleton & Cole Ltd (a wholesale group) although it continued to trade as Barlow & Parker, but in 1968 Cavendish Foods sold off its interest to Palmer & Harvey Ltd. The Barlow & Parker company was officially dissolved in 1974. By the mid-1970s other changes were in the offing; the triangle of land between Tamworth Road, Drayton Road and Ruskin Road (part of Waddon New Road until 1980) was earmarked for housing development, so that by 1978 the Barlow & Parker building and everything else standing on the site was demolished. The fine Art Deco building came down and new homes were built between 1979 and 1980.

These days are now history; the excitement of creating a new business from scratch so soon after the First World War, the risk of expanding into wholesaling, the growth of the 1930s, the pleasure of occupying a new building in 1938, more formal occasions such as the staff dinners at the Greyhound Hotel and at Zeeta's Restaurant in George Street – all have gone. Yet, nevertheless, the story of Barlow & Parker is as much a part of the history of Croydon as are the stories of many other perhaps better known events.

Ken Harman

Acknowledgements
My special thanks go to John Frederick Barlow and his wife Dulcie who have helped me with much useful background material and identification of the subjects of photographs after my query in the last issue of the CNHSS Bulletin; to Graham Green who sold me the original photographs and ephemera that started me on my research into the firm; and to the Croydon Local Studies Library and its splendid resources and ever-helpful staff. Material used includes the Ward's Croydon directories, electoral rolls, telephone directories, Croydon Advertiser, Croydon Times, and articles on the Bentley & Craig case.

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