home
List of marks used

The Barker Brothers Meir Works was in Barker Street, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent. The information on this page was provided by Margaret Weston, the daughter of Harold Salt, who was the Clay Shop Manager at these works for over 50 years.

See more on Barker Bros

Barker Brothers Ltd, Meir Works, Longton.
photo taken 1960s

Lovatt collection
© copyright, of MLA West Midlands, Chrysalis 
Stoke-on-Trent Libraries
- used for private, research, education purposes - do not reproduce for profit -

 

Mr Harold Salt Clay Manager (later Senior Clay Manager) - Barker Bros My father was Harold Salt & mother Millicent Lewis.   She was a selector & made up the orders. Their wedding present was a canteen of cutlery which I still have.  It has a small inlaid plaque which reads ..... "Presented to Mr. & Mrs. H. Salt by the Potting Departments of Messrs. Barker Bros. Ltd on the occasion of their marriage, July 15th 1939" As a child I visited the factory often & can always remember being absolutely fascinated to watch the men carrying a board of ware on each shoulder & sometimes also one on their head with the ever-present cigarette dangling from their mouths. We were never able to take our holidays during the Wakes fortnight like everyone else because Harold had to be at work whilst any maintenance was being carried out - this was wonderful for me because I always got an extra 2 weeks holiday when everyone else had returned to school !!  On one occasion work needed to be done on the tunnel oven & this was switched off at the beginning of the Wakes holiday. I went with Harold to the factory during this time & accompanied him walking through the oven - I can remember being quite scared because, although it had been switched off for a week, it was still very hot in the middle !   Sampson Smiths & Barker Bros. were owned by the Hewitt brothers when Harold first worked there Gerald Hewitt directed Sampson Smith's & Arnold Hewitt, Barker Bros. I remember that they were known by their Christian names ie "Mr. Arnold ".   Arnold Hewitt can be seen  in the white coat standing at Harold's left hand at the presentation to Mr Cyples.   Later Barker Bros was owned by Alfred Clough - a huge presence in every way! (see photo)

"Just as an afterthought, I have been researching my family history
 & found that my g/g/grandfather, William Woolley,
had a crate making business in Church Street, Longton in the 1870s."

Margaret Weston