Barkers of Northallerton

This family run department store is an institution in Northallerton. Back in 1882 a 14 year old William Barker became a draper's apprentice at a shop on the site. One of 14 siblings the family farm couldn't sustain all of them so he was sent to work in town.

He stayed loyal to the draper and by 1907 he had become a partner, in 1918 he bought the original family out of the business. Since then the premises have grown to what it is today keeping the historic charm of years of development in place. There is a larger, modern version to the north of the town.

The gent taking the photo must have been waiting for someone to exit the arcade, he was standing like that for a good 10 mins!