Southampton bakers Lowmans and hot cross buns all year

In Southampton's rich past, the name "Lowman's Bakery" resonates deeply, conjuring images and memories for many who recall its long presence in the city and the hot cross buns they baked annually around this time of year.

The bakery's more-than-a-century journey, from its humble Victorian beginnings to its eventual absorption into a larger conglomerate, saw many chapters.

It is a story that illustrates the transition from an era often dominated by family-run, independent businesses, intimately connected to their locale, towards one increasingly characterised by the efficiency, scale, and sometimes impersonal nature of supermarkets and national chains.

The story began in 1860 when Stephen Bradshaw Lowman laid the foundations for an enterprise destined to become a household name in and around Southampton.

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The initial operation was a world away from the industrial scale it would later achieve. 

The small village enterprise could be found on the road leading towards Old Portswood, an area then fringed by an expanse of green meadows. 

This shows more rural character of Southampton's outskirts during the mid-19th century, before the relentless march of urban development transformed pastures into pavements.

Baking in these early days would have been a craft rooted in tradition, relying heavily on manual labour – kneading dough by hand, stoking wood-fired ovens, and perhaps relying on simple, time-honoured recipes passed down through generations. 

This stark contrast between the bakery's small-scale, almost pastoral origins and its eventual status as a major industrial producer underscores the remarkable trajectory of growth and transformation it underwent. 

This evolution ran parallel to the development of Southampton itself, as it coalesced from a collection of distinct villages and communities into a major, urban centre and international port. 

As decades unfolded, Lowman's Bakery didn't just survive - it thrived. 

Driven by a combination of increasing consumer demand in a rapidly growing city,  the bakery steadily expanded. It evolved from its artisanal roots into the primary, large-scale producer of bread and confectionery for Southampton and its surrounding areas. This growth necessitated a move towards more industrialised methods and larger premises.

A pivotal chapter in this expansion was the establishment and subsequent development of a significant factory on Portswood Road. 

The site, encompassing addresses 81–97 Portswood Road, became the long-standing heart of Lowman's operations, synonymous with the brand for decades. 

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The transition from traditional hand-baking methods to a more mechanised, factory-based system was a crucial step in Lowman's ascent, equipping the Portswood Road factory with what was considered "one of the most up to date of its time" machines.

The 1960s arguably represented the high-water mark for Lowman's Bakery. During this period, the Portswood Road factory was operating at its absolute peak. It employed a substantial workforce of 650, providing livelihoods for a large number of Southampton families.

Complementing this production powerhouse was an extensive retail network. The firm operated a total of 39 shops strategically located across Southampton. This widespread presence ensured that Lowman's bread, rolls, cakes, and pastries were readily accessible to residents in nearly every neighbourhood, making the Lowman's name and its distinctive branding a familiar and trusted sight throughout the city. 

These shops served as more than just points of sale, they were community hubs, places for brief social interactions, and reliable sources of daily sustenance. 

A report from the period close to its closure under Rank Hovis McDougall, mentions "approximately 40 permanent full time jobs." This significantly lower figure almost certainly reflects the scaled-down operation of its final years, rather than the busy 1960s.

Even after the bakery's eventual closure, the name remained indelibly linked to the location amd a proposal arose later to name a new street on the redeveloped site "Lowman's Place."

The Lowman's delivery network and methods also evolved with time. 

In its early years, distribution relied on the muscle power of humans and animals. Handcarts, pushed through the local streets, and horse-drawn carts were also utilised. 

The importance of equine power is highlighted by the fact that, at one stage, Lowman's owned a stable of 32 horses for their well-established delivery network.

The introduction of the first Lowman's motor van, reportedly a Model T Ford, marked a significant leap forward. The iconic "Tin Lizzie," a pioneer of mass-produced automobiles, dramatically increased the speed, efficiency, and range of the bakery's deliveries.

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This transition accelerated, and by the 1960s, Lowman's commanded an impressive fleet of more than 100 motor and electric vans. 

This large fleet was a clear indicator of the sheer scale of production emanating from the Portswood factory and the extensive distribution network required to service its shops and potentially wholesale customers across Southampton and beyond.

But Lowman's ambition extended beyond production and local shops. 

In 1911, the bakery branched out by opening a large, combined shop and restaurant premises in Above Bar. 

Tragically, this prestigious establishment was destined to become a casualty of war. 

During the Second World War, Southampton's status as a major port made it a prime target for Luftwaffe bombing raids. 

In the chaos and devastation of the December 1940 Southampton Blitz, the Lowman's shop and restaurant in Above Bar was destroyed by enemy bombs. 

Despite this devastating setback, Lowman's Bakery demonstrated characteristic resilience. In the challenging aftermath of the war, during the efforts to rebuild and recover, the bakers did not retreat. They sought to re-establish a presence, opening a smaller shop in the former Windsor Terrace, conveniently located near the old Hants and Dorset bus station. 

This initial post-war shop in Windsor Terrace proved successful enough that by 1958, Lowman's relocated to larger premises on the same street. These Windsor Terrace shops represented another distinct phase in the bakery's long history, bridging the gap between the wartime loss and the later changes to come.

The landscape of British business was changing rapidly in the latter half of the 20th century, with consolidation becoming a common trend in the food industry. 

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By the mid-1970s, Lowman's Bakery became part of the much larger Rank Hovis McDougall (RHM) group. RHM itself was formed in 1962 through the merger of Ranks Limited and the Hovis-McDougall Company, and it continued to grow through further acquisitions.

Unfortunately, integration into this larger corporate structure spelled the beginning of the end for Lowman's production in Southampton. 

The Portswood Road premises, the heart of the operation for so many decades, fell victim to a "rationalisation programme" undertaken by RHM. 

For Lowman's, this meant the closure of the Portswood factory, which occurred in 1976.

 A 2006 Daily Echo article concerning the closure of the RHM Southampton mill mentioned it being "significantly loss-making".

Although the ovens at Portswood Road fell silent in 1976, or shortly thereafter, the Lowman's name did not immediately vanish from the Southampton streetscape. 

For a few more years, a number of the retail shops continued to trade under the familiar Lowman's banner. 

However, this lingering presence was temporary. 

The ultimate redevelopment of the extensive Portswood Road site marked the definitive physical disappearance of the bakery from its long-time home. 

In the 1980s, the site was transformed into a Wickes' builders' merchants, and later still, it underwent further redevelopment into the Fullerton Place Estate. This erasure of the physical structure served as a tangible symbol of the end of an industrial era for that specific location.

Lowman's was far more than just a business selling bread, it was an integral part of Southampton's local heritage. It provided vital employment, supplied essential goods, and functioned as a familiar, reliable presence in the community for generations.