A local Taunton business and one of the country's oldest family owned department stores is celebrating its 250th anniversary.
Hatchers was founded by William Hatcher in 1775 when he opened a small drapery business.
At this time Lord Nelson was 17, Napoleon Bonaparte was just 6 years old and it would be a further 14 years before George Washington would become the first President of the United States. Hatchers even pre-dates the introduction of income tax!
William's son Thomas Hatcher continued the family business, becoming known locally as a Master Draper. Thomas's own son Demas again followed in the family tradition becoming an apprentice draper.
Meanwhile, in 1799 Robert Newberry, also a draper, purchased a shop from Matthew Colman that he had operated since1792 in premises at No.12 High Street (part of today's department store).
Robert took into partnership his son-in-law Rice Blake and they traded under the name of Newberry & Blake.
Rice Blake's neice Catherine worked in the shop as a draper's assistant and it was here that the apprentice draper Demas Hatcher met and fell in love with Catherine. The couple eventually married and it was this inter-marriage of families and the subesquent convergance of business interests that led to the formation of a new partnership, Newberry, Blake & Hatcher.
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If the staffing is any indication, by 1861 the firm was a thriving concern, operating from 12 & 13 High Street. The premises over the shop now housed the families of both Rice Blake and Demas Hatcher. Together the household and staff numbered 25 souls: seven draper’s assistants, four apprentices, a porter and five assistants.
Partner Robert Newberry died in 1866 after which the business became known as Blake & Hatcher.
Two young sons of Demas Hatcher, Henry and Robert, joined the firm in 1876 and when Rice Blake retired in 1883 the partnership was dissolved and the business took on its current trading name of Hatcher & Sons. Henry and Robert were the two sons who have ever since been part of the name of the firm.
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Ten years on and business was clearly going well because in 1893 plans were drawn up for the erection of a purpose-built furnishing shop at 54-55 High Street. The opening of the shop on 20th October 1894 merited eight column inches in the Somerset County Gazette.
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The building, which cost around £2,200 provided showrooms on the ground and first floors, a carpet planning room above and at the rear was a warehouse and workshops for the cabinet-makers, upholsterers and French Polishers.
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Of particular note at the time was ‘the remarkable convenience that the back of the premises came right out against the Crescent and all carts etc will be unladen there, which will be a great advantage in many ways’.
In 1869 the business interest expanded with the addition of a funeral service which, according to the ledgers of the time 'began with a capital sum of £136, which furnished a hearse, coaches, palls, horse and wagon, a coburg and plumes'.
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Expansion continued in 1871 with the opening of a furniture shop at 33 The Parade, on the corner of Hammet Street. Here they sold ‘spring and wool mattresses, iron and brass bedsteads, furniture and soft furnishings’.
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With the addition of furniture, upholstery and soft furnishings the offering had expanded to become what might better be described as a ‘variety store’.
The old furniture shop on the Parade was closed after a sale starting in April 1894, the remaining stock being transferred to the new premises at 54 and 55 High Street.
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The next landmark in the history of the firm came in March 1898 when it became a Limited Company and took on its present name, Hatcher and Sons Ltd. Among the first five directors were the two sons Henry and Robert. Robert became the first managing director of a concern which was then valued at £38,983. The value included an extension of the premises in 1892 which took in No.11 High Street.
In 1901 numbers 15-16 High Street (formerly Vile & Son) were also added, housing departments for china, glass, toys, a tea room and later the men’s department.
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Soon after that the first telephone was installed and Hatchers number was Taunton 8.
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In 1910 the next generation joined the firm. Arthur Robert Hatcher (son of Robert) was destined to serve the company for 53 years. In 1923 Henry passed away and Arthur replaced him as Managing Director.
After the First World War, in around 1920, a purpose built depository was constructed on Kingston Road. Used for storage, this housed stock and customer’s possessions either in long-term storage or in preparation for the removals service that Hatchers now offered.
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We still have the original vehicle registration documents for the delivery vehicles in this photo dating from 1917 to 1923!
The lorry in the centre was limited to a maximum speed of 12mph.
This 16 page brochure advertising the 1925 Winter Sale shows the business operating from premises at Nos.11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 54, 55, and 56 High Street.
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Hatchers telephone number was now ‘Taunton 95’ and telegrams could be sent to ‘Hatcher’s, Taunton’.
By the Summer of 1925 a new ladies hairdressing ‘saloon’ had opened adding another valuable service to the range that Hatchers offered.
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In 1928, the Company purchased the land and buildings it had long since operated in on a leasehold basis at 11, 12 & 13 High Street for a total sum of £8,000.
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In the 1930’s expansion continued into the adjoining premises with new leases being taken for Nos. 9 and 10 High Street.
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In 1941 the property at No.10 was purchased by the Company for £2,750 and in 1943 the firm purchased No.9 High Street for £2,500 completing the premises as it stands today.
Arthur’s younger brother Clifford joined the firm in 1941 and in 1961 his youngest brother Leslie (great-great-grandson of William Hatcher) became a Director and the last member of the Hatcher family to be involved in the business.
During the 1960s and 1970s, as the Hatcher family generation changed, outside experienced management were brought in and joined the board to continue running the traditional family-owned store.
After the death of Arthur in 1963 Stanley George Davie became Managing Director and in 1965 Robert Clive Raisey joined the firm.
In 1971 Adrian Michael Hill joined and when Mr Davie retired in 1973, Mr Hill became Managing Director with Mr Raisey becoming Finance Director.
With the development of the Paul Street multi-storey car park and plans for a new shopping centre (now the Orchard Shopping Centre) in the late 1970's, it was decided that investment in the Store’s future was essential.
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Proceeds from the sale of 15-16 High Street to Tesco for re-development as a supermarket and the sale of the furniture building at 54-55 High Street allowed for the yard, stables and outbuildings behind the premises at 9-13 High Street to be demolished to make way for a modern two storey extension to be built in 1982 to form the department store we see today.
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By 1986, in the absence of any involvement of the Hatcher family, Hatchers was seen as an ideal takeover opportunity by investment companies acting on behalf of larger national stores such as John Lewis and House of Fraser. In a bid to safeguard its future, Mr Hill and Mr Raisey together with their wives made a successful attempt to purchase a controlling interest in the Company, securing over 70% of the shareholding.
Clive’s son Mark joined the family business in 1988 and was appointed director in 1993. Shortly afterwards, in 1995 Michael’s son David joined the business, followed in 1996 by his son Stephen. Two years later in 1998 Hatchers celebrated 100 years as a Limited Company and Clive Raisey retired with Stephen Hill taking over his role. Also this year, the old warehouse in Kingston Road finally became unsuitable for current business needs and was sold for redevelopment into 16 flats.
In 2000 Stephen Hill was appointed a Director and in 2002 the Hill and Raisey families (via their holding company Hovelands Ltd) acquired the remaining few shares in the firm still held by original shareholders and their descendants. The firm’s ownership was secured and wholly family owned for the first time in over 100 years!
Michael Hill stepped back from day to day management in 2008, but continuing the family business tradition, Mark Raisey and Stephen Hill now run the business. Both Michael Hill and Clive Raisey continue to be Directors.