ARCHITECTURE
The Old Bakery, no. 58 (previously was no. 134) is a single-storey rubble limestone and red brick masonry structure with a hipped roof of corrugated iron, in an essentially utilitarian design. It is a reminder of the former way of life in suburban East Fremantle when bread was made locally by a number of small bakeries and delivered door-to-door and was one of the original commercial premises in the area.
HISTORY
See the history of adjoining property no. 56 next door.
From 1921 - 1949 - Baker Percy Saunders had a bakehouse running the length of the block, and by horse and cart, delivered his bread to most of East Fremantle. He was the President of the Master Baker’s Association of Western Australia and had a ‘Gentlemen’s smoking room’ at a small adjoining building (58).
History Submitted by Mrs Josephine (Jo) Lupton (nee Saunders):
My grandparents, Percy James Christopher Saunders, and his wife Maude, acquired this bakery business and the neighbouring house (at No 56) in the 1920s. Their family grew to nine children – four boys and five girls. As the sons reached working age, three of them became involved in the business.
The eldest son, William Walter (known as Dick) became a Church of Christ Minister.
Allan, the second son became the bookkeeper. His office was a small room off the dining room/vestibule in their home that had probably been built as a pantry.
Ted (Albert Edward) became the leading delivery man.
Ken (Kenneth Stanley) learned the baking side of the business under his father’s tutelage. He was also a self-taught motor mechanic so when the business acquired three motorised Bedford delivery vans in the mid to late 1930s it became his job to manage repairs and servicing.
The next generation also became involved in the business in the early 1950s.Gregory, son of Allan, drove a delivery van and Rodney, son of Ted, maintained the aging delivery vans.
By the late 1950s-early 1960s the business was diminishing: Percy had died in 1949. (Two years after Ken the youngest son had died.) Maude had lived alone in their home since then and her health problems were increasing. Allan and Ted had reached retiring age. It was becoming more difficult to keep the delivery vans on the road. It was becoming difficult to find sufficient workers and the supermarkets were becoming the place where their customers preferred to buy their bread. (Not many family bakeries could supply sliced loaves wrapped in plastic bags!) Consequently, the business (and all the bread recipes!) was bought by Tip Top Bakery as were a number of other metropolitan area family bakeries.
The bakery building was used by a couple of artisans in the ensuing years. Then it was sold and converted into a home with modern additions to the basic structure of limestone blocks which feature in a large number of houses in East Fremantle.
The East Fremantle Council holds a Heritage Study of the former bakehouse that was at this address. That study includes a diagram of the inside of the bakery building and a description of its surrounds that were provided by me (in the 1980s, I think). My own file for that document is long lost as I renewed my computer hardware over the years. jo.lup@bigpond.com ( May 2024)
RESIDENTS
1913 - 1915: Frampton, Samuel
1917: Cole, W.
1918 - 1919: Regan, M. C.
1921 - 1949: Saunders, Christopher J. P.
