An Eccles Shopkeeping family

An Eccles Shopkeeping Family: The business archive of Bradburn's, makers of Eccles Cakes

Kathy Percival, the great great Grandaughter of the original owner of Bradburn's Eccles cake shop, gave us an excellent and highly informative insight into the life of her shopkeeping family, derived from her family's business archives and other contemporary sources.

Of particular interest was how Kathy had placed her family's business archive into the context of the rapidly expanding industrial town of Eccles and her reflections on the broader political and social changes that were taking place in the 19th century, which enabled it to survive and actively participate in the growth of the town.

We learned that James Birch, the first named retailer of Eccles Cakes, set up shop in Church Street in 1795.

When he moved across the road in 1813, his former apprentice and political rival, William Bradburn
moved into his shop and established a business rivalry which lasted for almost a century. John Robinson bought Bradburn's business in 1871, modernising and growing the business and by 1880, it was stated that their annual sales alone exceeded three million cakes. The recipe was always a closely guarded secret, passed on to each owner. The original shop was demolished in the 1960s to make way for a new shopping centre, but these famous cakes are much older and have outlasted all three families and a retail revolution!

It was highly appropriate that the meeting closed with the famed Eccles cakes and tea, which was was enjoyed by all.

Pauline Griffiths
Audlem History Society