12/04/2025
The Milton Bakery on Ashford Road, Tenterden, Kent. This was run by my maternal grandmother’s family from 1853-1912.
The lady on the front step is one of the ‘Milton’ daughters.
She is either a great aunt or my great great grandmother. I think aunt due to the date of the photograph being taken when her sister, my 2x great grandmother, was already married.
William Milton (1851-1929) my 3x great grandfather, was listed as baker on the 1901, 1911 & 1921 censuses at Ashford Road, St Michaels. Prior to that he had been a baker in High Halden, Kent. His father George was also a Butcher there.
William married Phoebe Johnson in 1868 when he was 17 (Phoebe was 21) and they went on to have 13 children.
The bakery was very much a hub of family life. In 1901 their grandson Charles Edward Milton, later killed in WWI, was living with them in the shop. Along with many of the other children.
The Bakery also worked as a convienimec store. Not just breads were sold but other commodities like sugar, tea, tinned goods.
It might not seem like a grand profession, but back in those early days, indeed it was. You knew the whole community. You were the hub. You would be aware of who was ill, who was down on their luck and all the community gossip.
🥖🌳
