Sir John Barker, 1st Baronet (6 April 1840 – 16 December 1914) was a British

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

of the late 19th and early 20th century. He was the founder of the Barkers

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Early life

John Barker was born on 6 April 1840 in

Loose, Kent Loose is a village and civil parish some south of Maidstone, Kent, situated at the head of the Loose Valley, with which it forms the Loose Valley Conservation Area. The fast-flowing River Loose which rises near Langley runs through the cent ...

, England. He grew up in

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

, where his father, Joseph Barker, was a brewer. He was apprenticed as a draper in Maidstone for three years.

Career

Barker began his career by working as a draper in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...

and

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

. In 1858, he worked for Spencer, Turner & Boldero in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

, London. He subsequently worked for William Whiteley on

Westbourne Grove Westbourne Grove is a retail road running across Notting Hill, an area of West London. Its western end is in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and its eastern end is in the City of Westminster; it runs from Kensington Park Road in the ...

Bayswater Bayswater is an area in the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...

, London. After Whiteley refused to partner with Barker, the latter decided to open a store on

Kensington High Street Kensington High Street is the main shopping street in Kensington, London, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Kensington High Street is the continuation of Kensington Road and part ...

with

Sir James Whitehead, 1st Baronet Sir James Whitehead, 1st Baronet DL (2 March 1834 – 20 October 1917) was a British merchant and Liberal Party politician. Early life Whitehead was born near Sedbergh, Yorkshire. He was educated at the grammar school in Appleby-in-Westmorlan ...

instead. As a result, the two men founded Barkers of Kensington. It became a public company known as John Barker & Co Ltd in 1894. Barker was an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

of the first

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

MP for

1900–1901, and for the now abolished

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

Penryn and Falmouth Penryn and Falmouth was the name of a constituency in Cornwall, England, UK, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 until 1950. From 1832 to 1918 it was a parliamentary borough, initially returning ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

from 1906 to 1910. He was awarded a

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1908.

Personal life and death

Barker lived at The Grange, Rye Street,

Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is in the London metropolitan area, London commuter belt, near the border with Essex, just west of the ...

. Its grounds included what is now Grange Park and Broadfield. His daughter Annie married Tresham Gilbey, one of the sons of Sir

Walter Gilbey Sir Walter Gilbey, 1st Baronet, (2 May 1831 – 12 November 1914) was an England, English Vintner, wine-merchant, horse-breeder, author, and philanthropist. Early life Gilbey was born at 11, Windhill, Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire to Henry ...

. Barker died on 16 December 1914.

References

External links

*
The story of John Barker & Co Ltd, Kensington, London
from Michael Moss and Alison Turton, ''A Legend of Retailing: House of Fraser'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1989. 1840 births 1914 deaths Politicians from Maidstone

501 __NOTOC__ Year 501 ( DI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Avienus and Pompeius (or, less frequently, year 1254 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 501 fo ...

English businesspeople in retailing Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 Members of London County Council Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Penryn and Falmouth Progressive Party (London) politicians People from Loose, Kent 19th-century English businesspeople {{UK-business-bio-1840s-stub