Hastings bakery marks 200 years of trade with celebrations and street party

Judges Bakery, based in High Street in the Old Town, was founded in 1826.

The business said its bicentennial this year makes it one of the oldest bakeries in the UK.

When Judges Bakery was founded in 1826, George IV was the ruling monarch, Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool was Prime Minister and University College London (UCL) was founded.

The business and its staff held a street party on Thursday (August 6), inviting regular customers and supporters to mark the occasion with live music and DJs.

Owner Michael Wootton said: “I've run Judges Bakery for the last 13 years with my wife Lisa and family Chelsea and Luna and we are exceptionally proud to be part of this business that has been running for 200 years.

“We consider ourselves the latest custodians of this business and I think it's very unique that an independent business has now been running on the high street for 200 years.

“We've seen the market change rapidly since we've been here. We're very much into sourdoughs and creating new exciting recipes like chocolate and lime cheesecake brownies, which is a good example, and a big ethos on local ingredients, crab and chilli quiches, smoke mackerel tarts, that sort of thing.

“We make everything on site, bake on site and deliver on site. We have a strong ethos of supplying small independent local businesses because they're the ones that help businesses like us go for another 200 years.

“Support is fantastic around here. We only supply independent businesses and they, the Judges team and the community that supports us every day are a testament to the success of a small bakery like this. Long may it continue for another 200 years.

“I cannot thank our customers enough. We see so many regulars every day coming for their coffee, their croissants and their loaf of bread. I have a guy who comes from Mexico, where he lives for six months of the year. The first thing he does when he gets off the plane and out of the taxi here is come and get a loaf of bread because he has been looking forward to it for the last six months.

“My customers are everything. I know so many by name which is, I think, very unique in this day and age.”

Visit www.judgesbakery.com.