Carr & Bury - About Us
At Carr and Bury we are proud of our reputation as one of the longest established family businesses in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire.
Although our partnership with Toiles de Mayenne - and this internet site - demonstrate our expanding perspectives, our local roots in the town are extremely important to us.
The origins of Carr and Bury date back to the turn of 19th Century when Amos Pryor established a drapery and haberdashery business in North Street, Bishop's Stortford in 1891.
The site, which had previously been used by Hawkes Brewery, was soon developed to include a showroom as Mr Pryor developed a small and successful operation.
In 1924 the shop was bought by a Mr Carruthers and a Mr Tidbury. Mr Carruthers was a well known East Anglian draper and he and his business partner combined their names to establish Carr and Bury.
The pair sold the shop soon after World War Two to a Mr. Mullinder of Harlow before the Collett family first became involved in 1955. John Collett, who had run a hosiery business in London before joining aircraft manufacturer De Havillands at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, bought the shop with his wife Ruth in 1955.
The pair's plans to develop the shop together were cut short by John's death in 1956, which was when their younger son Peter became involved on a full time basis.
Peter gave up his career in the City to become managing director of Carr and Bury, with his mother as chairman. They were soon joined by Jean Barge, who managed the company's finances and later, following Ruth's death in 1985, she became Chairman.
Through the 1960's and 70's the business flourished with Peter building up a large and successful dress fabric and haberdashery department. The key challenge for the business from the 1980's onwards was that it needed to adapt to the fact that the development of 'off the peg' outfits meant fewer people needed fabric to make their own clothes. The other major social and cultural development that affected trade was the demise of the teaching of 'home economics' - and the sewing classes that went with it.
However, while the overall number of drapers and fabric shops declined in Britain, Carr and Bury was one of those that succeeded in attracting custom from the many people who were still keen sewers.
Fabric remained Carr and Bury's core business - as it does today - but the company also developed its stock in other areas, including duvets and pillows, linens and haberdashery.
In 1983 Peter's son Henry became the third generation of Colletts to join the business.
Henry's involvement allowed Peter the time to extend his participation in various local and national trade bodies - and in 1996 he was elected the first chairman of the British Shops and Stores Association. At the start of the 1990's, Carr and Bury opened a shop in nearby Great Dunmow as the company looked to build on its strong reputation as one of the few remaining family businesses in the area. In 1994 Henry Collett took over from his father as managing director, the company also developed its expertise in project managing contracts for a range of furnishings and window treatments.
The beginning of the new millennium was marked with the company's most ambitious venture to date; the franchise deal with KA International, whilst this partnership was short lived it developed the companies current home furnishings market and most recently the tie up with French Company Toiles de Mayenne.