Our business was established in 1885. Great Great Grandfather Alfred Boulby and Willie Nettleton came up with the idea of going into partnership with their own bakery business, thus creating Boulby and Nettleton Bakers and Confectioners.
During this time Alfred met a Horbury girl called Alice Taylor whom was the half-sister of Grace Taylor, the wife of Sabine Baring-Gould, who wrote the hymn Onward Christian Soldiers.
With the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. Alfred Boulby went off to war at the age of 35, serving with the Royal Flying Corps. He was demobilised in 1919 and sold his half of Boulby and Nettleton to Willie Nettleton and then bought the grocers shop at the corner of Park Street with Highfield Road. It had a joining house at number 2 Park Street where Alfred baked in the kitchen, whilst his wife worked in the shop.
A few years later Alfred bought a small cottage in the yard at the back of the shop known as 2 Park Place and then also number 4 Park Place and knocked through ajoining doorways. This was the start of A.Boulby Grocers and Confectioners. Charles Boulby son of Alfred Boulby left school and began working in the Bakery. In 1934 Charles Boulby met Annie Westerman who then later married and had three boys.
In 1954 Albert Geoffrey Boulby Son of Charles and Annie Boulby (known as Geoff) went into the Bakery at age 15 straight out of school.
‘Best Thing since Sliced Bread’ did not ring true as every corner shop was selling bread by this time and things were not looking good.
The Bakery was badly in need of investment because all the machinery was old. The Tweedale Coke oven was actually fired inside the bakery, and the trouble with that type of oven, was you had no control over the heat and occasionally went out during the night causing all sorts of problems. The Coke oven was later replaced by an electric oven, What a revelation! A wholesale round was also started,supplying corner shops,things began picking up.
Geoff then met Betty Sugden and later married in 1960. By 1967 they had two children.
Charles Boulby father of Geoff died suddenly in 1973 aged 63 years.Geoff said to his wife Betty, he would give the business two years to turn it round, if not he would close the business down.
The decision was then made to close the Highfield Road corner shop due to lack of passing trade, and moved to the present shop on the High Street in Horbury in 1977. Naming it Patisserie and Coffee Shop, it was the first of its kind in Horbury and was very popular.
In the 70’s Geoff employed Terry McCarthy from Cockers Bakery in Lupset who is still working at Boulbys to this present day.
Jonathan Boulby son of Geoff joined the business in 1982 and became a business partner 10 years late. He is now in charge of the day to day running of the Bakery with his wife Jayne Boulby on the administrative side of the business. They now trade as Boulbys of Highfield Bakery also changing the name of the shop to Boulbys in 2003.
Boulbys Bakery which is now in its 4th Generation has grown from strength to strength over the years. Supplying Quality products the old fashioned way to Horbury people, and surrounding areas.With quality and service you can rely on.