Biography of George Osborne BARRATT
[Ref. O.60]
Biography
Sources
Biography of George Osborne BARRATT
[Ref. O.60]
Sources
Information for this story is drawn principally from research published by the Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society. Details of this and other sources are listed in the link above.
George Osborne Barratt started in business as a Pastry Chef in 1848 in partnership with his brother Jammes John Barrat, working from home at 9 Albert Place in City Road Hoxton, Middlesex. George gained respect for his skill in developing new types of confectionery and his first reported success was a half-baked brandy snaop biscuit. The partnership was dissolved, seemingly by mutual agreement, on 19 April 1852 and that was reported in Parry's Bankrupt and Insolvent Weekly Gazette on 24 April that year.
George moved to 9 & 10 Shepherdess Walk in Hoxton where he started manufacturing sweets, initially producing just a few pounds of sweets each day. He was assisted by his wife who attended to their small shop also employed a female sugar boiler whilst he went out in a pony and trap to find outlets to sell his produce. Business grew rapidly so George bought up adjacent properties in order to expand. Items which proved popular were Chocolate Chips comprising gratedcoconut covered with crystallised sugar and his range of Rock, especially Almond flavoured. A major success came about by accident. The sugar boiler had failed to crystallize a batch of coconut brandy so it did not set properly. George distributed it anyway in the expectation that it would be alright by the time it reached the retailers. However, it did not, but reports came back that the children liked it that way so that is how it stayed and it was named Stickjaw
By 1864 the business occupied premises on both sides of Shepherdess Walk. Around 1868, George's eldest son, George William, took over his father's rounds whilst George himself travelled more widely around the country, continuing thus for the next twenty years. His business philosaphy was to make his products affordable to even the poorest people. It is believed that Barratt's pioneered the packaging of sweets into labelled boxes thus creating a recognisable brand.
By 1880. the works had no more space available to expand so the Allsopp & Co. piano factory in Mayes Road in Wood Green was purchased. Construction was started and the first building was ready for occupation in 1882 and a second a year later. By 1884 Barrat's were employing around 500 people and were one of the largest manufacturers of confectionery and jam in London.
The company were strict, some say they were obsessed, on the observance of time, and the clock on the office building was kept accurate so that employees had no excuse to be late arriving for work. Fines were imposed for trivial offences, lateness being one. However, each Christmas, prizes were also given for good attendance records. It was the custom of the firm to give every worker a Christmas present and, in December 1913, this took the form of an alarm clock.
There were about 1200 employees at the factory in September 1890 and a sickness fund for staff was inaugrated that year. That same year there was a strike which had been been femented by the Gas Stokers Union. The stated grievances were that there should be a half hour break for tea between 4pm and 5pm, that the hours of work being from 8am to 8pm. the abolition of fines, the provision of a proper place for meals, a 1/- per week rise all round plus overtime to start at 6:30pm on weekdays and 1pm on Saturdays. The strike seems to have lasted about six weeks and Barratts quickly filled the strikers' places.
In September 1891 as reported in The Islington Gazette, Barratt & Co distributed prizes to employees for good conduct and good attendance. During the speeches, reference was made to the successful Aid and Protective Union which benefitted the employess, having replaced the failed Sick Fund.
In 1899, a serious fire destroyed a five-storey building used for caramel and lozenge manufacture also export packing on the ground floor, but it was soon rebuilt. By 1904 eight buildings were in use covering about five acres. In 1906 the number of employes had reached 2000 and they produced 350 tons of sweets per week, making Barrat's the largest confectionery manufacturer in the world.
Prior to his death in 1906, George had wound down his involvement in the company, leaving his four sons, George, Frank, Albert and Edward, to continue the business. The initials of these four sons were displayed in the brickwork above the main entrance of the office block along with the company motto Labor et Probitas. That translates as Work and Honesty. By mutual agreement, Edward gave his position to his sister, Elizabeth Sarah Stennett.
In 1909 the firm was made into a limited company with selected employees being shareholders. Profits were good until 1917 when sugar shortages threatened the survival of the factory. During the period between the two World Wars, production continued using old fashioned methods and it was not until during World War two that conditions started to be improved. After the war the company flourished and mechanisation made good the shortage of available labour.
The company was taken over by Bassetts in a friendly transaction in 1966 for about £4 million, but production faltered due to poor business decisions, and the factory closed in the late 1970's. The brand went through further changes of hand and even went out of production for a while before being reinstated.