Reproduced by kind permission of The Royal Pavilion and Museums, Brighton & Hove
Ye Olde Bunn Shoppe
Until very recently, and in the absence of any information to the contrary, I had believed that “Ye Olde Bunn Shoppe” was founded by my great, great grandfather, Francis Cowley (b abt 1806). However, Paul Jordan at Brighton History Centre has sent me some very useful information which shows that, although Francis appeared in an 1845 Brighton street directory as a ‘baker’, he was trading at 9, Prince Albert Street. This ties in with the census entries for 1841 and 1851. In the same directory a Sarah Streeter was listed as a ‘bread &biscuit maker' at 9 Pool Lane (later Pool Valley).
The first record of Francis running a bakery business at 9 & 10, Pool Valley is in the 1861 census. He is also listed here in the 1871 and 1881 censuses. By 1881 Francis’s daughter, Caroline, is working in the bakery and in the 1891 and 1901 censuses, following the death of her father, she is listed as ‘head’ of the household and has taken over the business. She was obviously a successful businesswoman as she was granted a Royal Warrant in about 1808.
On the Brighton & Hove Museums web site I have also come across the advertising booklet for “Cowley - Fancy Bread and Biscuit Maker” (see below) . Zooming in on the rather indistinct image shows the date that the business was founded to be sometime in the 1790s. It would now seem probable that the business was founded by the ‘Streeter’ family and that it was taken over at some time in the 1850s by Francis Cowley.
The pictures below and the links to other web sites provide a fascinating pictorial history of “Ye Olde Bunn Shoppe” during the course of the last 100 years.
The first five photographs on this page and the images of the Cowley ‘booklet’ are from the collections at The Royal Pavilion and Museums, Brighton & Hove and are reproduced here with their kind permission. Follow the links at the bottom of this page to explore the museum’s web site and browse their on-line collections.
The first record of Francis running a bakery business at 9 & 10, Pool Valley is in the 1861 census. He is also listed here in the 1871 and 1881 censuses. By 1881 Francis’s daughter, Caroline, is working in the bakery and in the 1891 and 1901 censuses, following the death of her father, she is listed as ‘head’ of the household and has taken over the business. She was obviously a successful businesswoman as she was granted a Royal Warrant in about 1808.
On the Brighton & Hove Museums web site I have also come across the advertising booklet for “Cowley -
The pictures below and the links to other web sites provide a fascinating pictorial history of “Ye Olde Bunn Shoppe” during the course of the last 100 years.
The first five photographs on this page and the images of the Cowley ‘booklet’ are from the collections at The Royal Pavilion and Museums, Brighton & Hove and are reproduced here with their kind permission. Follow the links at the bottom of this page to explore the museum’s web site and browse their on-
Click on the images to enlarge them
This postcard shows Grand Junction Road, Brighton with "Ye Olde Bunn Shoppe" somewhere amongst the buildings.
I found this postcard after my father, Charles Leonard Marshall Cowley, died in 2003. It was sent to him by his father, Charles Leonard Cowley, on 3rd August 1939. Grandfather writes: ”Take care of this card - no more obtainable”.
The Cowley Booklet
These are images of “a paper guide booklet for 'Cowley - Fancy Bread and Biscuit
These are images of “a paper guide booklet for 'Cowley -
Maker, 9 Pool Valley, Brighton’ - from The Royal Pavilion and Museums, Brighton & Hove. The booklet
apparently shows the variety of different breads and biscuits made by Cowley's.
Click images to enlarge
Another monochrome photographic print also dating from around 1900 showing the front of the “Cowley Bread and Biscuit Baker” shop. A man in baker’s uniform is standing to the left hand side of the shop behind the Cowley handcart.
This black and white photographic print dates from ca 1900 showing Pool Valley, Brighton. It is a posed view of a family with Ye Olde Bunn Shoppe visible in the background.
These two monochrome photographic prints showing “Ye Olde Bunn Shoppe” are believed to date from the 1930s.
The Royal Warrant
The photographs at the top of this page show a Royal Crest above the shop name. The Royal Warrant Holders Association has
researched this for me and has confirmed that Miss Caroline Cowley held a Royal Warrant of Appointment from HM King Edward VII. It is
thought that the Warrant dates from 1908 as Caroline joined the Association on 10th October 1908. According to the 1912 Register, the ‘Board of Green Cloth’ (supervising Warrants) gave Caroline permission to continue using the Royal Arms after the death of King Edward VII in 1910. It is not clear why this dispensation was granted. Caroline eventually resigned her membership on 5th October 1921 when the dispensation came to an end.
BBC Southern Counties
Click here to see an interesting page on the BBC Southern Counties web site with some fascinating audio clips from Geoff Mead of Sussex University.
My Brighton and Hove
Some more fascinating views of Pool Valley and Ye Olde Bunn Shoppe on this award winning website. Click on these links -
Links
Page updated - 14 November 2009