In the beginning

In the late seventies, Trevor was married to Polly and living in a small hamlet called Yate Rocks, two miles away from Chipping Sodbury. He and Polly had two young boys with a daughter on the way and Trevor worked for his father in Bristol at Herbert’s Bakery. The bakery encompassed a farm that grew the wheat for the flour to make the wholemeal bread. As a side interest, animals were fattened on the farm and sent to Stuart Hobbs the butcher, who had a small slaughterhouse behind the shop, which was on the High Street in Chipping Sodbury. Polly had already chosen Hobbs as her preferred butchery and got to know Stuart, a widower, and his only son who was affected by Down’s Syndrome. Realising that it was time to retire, Stuart sought suitable purchasers for his business. This proved difficult as his main concern was for the reputation of the business and for the loyal staff that had supported him for many years. On his return from a holiday in the north of England, he telephoned Trevor and asked whether he would be interested in a business opportunity. He said that his inspiration came from his time away where he observed that butchers and bakers often shared the same front door. His idea was that the front parlour could be turned into a bakery shop, giving a desirable location for Herbert’s Bakery. He said that he trusted Trevor to protect the interests of his business and would train him to buy animals at auction and on the hoof from local farmers. Thus a deal was struck and Trevor and Polly sold their house to buy the property whilst his father, David Herbert, bought the business. Trevor and Polly moved into the property in the early eighties. They called the residential part of the property Mr Hobbs’ House and the front parlour was turned into a bakery shop, which was supplied from the main bakery in Bristol. Michael Nelson was the manager of the butchery and oversaw the staff in the fledgling bread shop. In 1982 the kitchen and dining room, both on the ground floor, were turned into a small bakery or, as they were called then, a Hot Bread Shop. In the mid-eighties Trevor returned to his fathers business, passing the butchery shop to Michael Nelson to operate on a twenty-five year lease. The property and bakery business were sold to Trevor’s father in law, John Wells, who wanted to provide for his son Sam who had trained as a baker in the Midlands. The business name was then changed to Hobbs House Bakery, and not the new family name of Wells.