Taken from the Sparks Bakery booklet to commemorate the opening of the Daylight Bakery, Stockton c1945/46
Images courtesy of LilyLou.
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
Taken from the Sparks Bakery booklet to commemorate the opening of the Daylight Bakery, Stockton c1945/46
Images courtesy of LilyLou.
Does anyone have a copy of this booklet? My mother believes her sister is in one of the photographs within the booklet. A few years later she joined the ATS and was killed in 1943. My mother was only 9 at the time her sister was killed and I would love to get a copy of this photo for her.
I have two Queen Anne Chairs in my living room that were given to my gran by someone in the sparks family for some dressmaking she did in the 50’s. Those sparks chairs are now in Austin, Texas.
My mam Rose Clarke nee Stewart and my late father Bill both worked there my mam I believe worked in the fancy room and my Dad was her boss.
All your dads brothers Colin, Terry, Peter & David played football for Sparks.
Spark’s shop on Durham Road was always a treat, used to get sent for some Charlotte Rousse cakes – not even sure what they were but they tasted great!
Spent many an hour in their orchard “oggy raiding” 🙂
I worked at sparks bakery when I left roseworth secondary modern school in 1964. I started in the tin room greasing the tins for the pies and cakes. Then was promoted to, I think it was lily’s line and we made the best custard slices ever. I have never have found any as good.
Susan Bell – I worked with you Sheila Smith now Sheila Charlton.
Oh my god – I found a photo of us the other day Sheila, can’t believe it – amazing. I am now living in Cambridge, are you still living in Stockton? It’s so good to hear from an old friend.
Susan – I have a photograph of you and me in my purse and I often wondered what happaned to you, please contact Picture Stockton for my email address, I would love to chat to you.
Hi Susan – Yes I am still living in Stockton, is your brother and sisters still living in Stockton? I have a nephew living in Cambridge and I have visted there a few times, my nephew son John Ruddy is a goalkeeper for Norwich.
Hi Sheila sorry have been away for a few days, got back late last night, unfortunately I am away until next week. Will get in touch when I get back. Going to Ireland on the ferry. Yikes still don’t like water.
Hi Sheila sorry I haven’t contacted you – things have gone mad – so busy. Could you get my email from Picture Stockton? I hope to hear from you soon.
My Wife who is a Manchester girl came to Stockton to meet my family, tasted the Snowballs and they immediately had a friend for life. She maintains that they were the best ever and not found a substitute anywhere even here in Australia. Such a pity that they had to close.
Snowballs were delicious and so were the Raspberry Wafers.
Opened 1945-46? Having passed this building for many years, I had assumed that the ‘modernist’ art-deco influences in the facade, meant that it was erected in the mid/late 1930’s, as opposed to just after WWII. Presumably, the architectural designs were completed just prior to the outbreak of hostilities in 1939 and building-work therefore suspended as a result? Thankfully, the symmetrical, pastel-shaded, elegance of this building, just escaped the starker approaches of some post-war architecture during the 50’s and early 60’s. I believe it’s now Grade II historically listed.
The grounds of Spark’s Bakery was were we would hide, and rejoin the stragglers, on those cross-country runs (sic) that Rock Hudson substituted for ‘games’ when he wanted to avoid damage to his sodden rugby pitches.
This grass area at the front of the bakery was where the boys off the Newham Grange Estate got their football education, which was when they started dreaming of Wembley, one of these boys actually realished his dream. Donny Heath played for Swindon Town in the Football League Cup-Final when they beat Arsenal 3-1, then they went on to to win the Anglo-Italian Cup. Donny also scored for Norwich City against Manchester United at Old Trafford in the F.A.Cup, past Alex Stepney.
We lived opposite the bakery in Commondale Avenue and we used to watch the Sparks football team play on a saturday. We always managed to get a load of miss-shapen cakes of all kinds to keep our spirits up during the game (which we watched from up a tree in Newham Grange Park) great days. My mam also worked there for a lot of years as a supervisor.
Mike, I knew you at Newtown, along with Andy Thompson, Mike Callender, Dave Doble & many more
They made the best toffee I have ever tasted and that includes Thorntons and Werthers. A toffee bar with raised pieces like rows of little Hovis loaves. Absolutely superb.
I remember the Toffee well, and you are right, the best I have ever tasted. Sparks had a Mobile Shop and my Grandmother used to buy from it every week.
The Stockton Heritage site tells you that R. Sparks bakery was built in 1938.
It also says it was built in the Art décor Style with Egyptian influence and the heat from the bakery used to heat the Offices.
My memories is going with my Father in his truck to collect the tins of waste cake and bread for the pigs, I had never seen anything like it in my life and I still pass that way up that Road just to see it again.
The Bakery lines were automated with dozens of women and girls working on the lines to me it was fantastic, the girls often brought out mis-shapes as we loaded the drums of waste and they did not reach the pigs , mother would ask why I was not eating my tea.
Memories of queueing at the shop in Norton for the daily delivery of cake and one large cake per customer during the war, usually coconut why could we still get that yet not bananas?