Copyright scotsman
Scottish towns and cities are home to many artisan bakeries with a huge number opening in the last five years. But Scotland’s love of sweet treats and good bread dates back hundreds of years, with traditional bakeries once the staple of high streets. One of these is Alexander Taylor, which has been a staple of Strathaven in South Lanarkshire since it opened in 1820. Currently run by husband and wife team Claire and Barry Taylor, the business is now on the market for the first time in its history. Speaking to the BBC about the decision Mrs Taylor said: “We've always known that we can't do what we do forever and we feel like we have put a long shift in. I've had people say 'I hope you never sell' and come up to me in absolute horror. But the main thing is we don't want to run out of enthusiasm." The couple met while studying painting at art school in Cheltenham and moved back to Strathaven to help with the family business. They worked in the bakery before buying it from Barry’s parents when his dad was no longer able to run the business. While there might be a temptation to pass the business on to their adult children, Mrs Taylor said she doesn’t think they should feel burdened with it. They did all work together during lockdown, something that Mrs Taylor said was “probably my favourite memory from the last 35 years working here. It was strangely really enjoyable and I feel proud of that time." But now with one of the children at university and the other a keen cyclist Mrs Taylor said: "In any other walk of life you wouldn't necessarily expect that you would do the same job as your parents have done. It is a unique thing for businesses that are family-run and what the Taylor family has done, it's quite an unusual thing for it to be in the same family for so long." As with any business this historic one has had to change and adapt over the years, with the bakery - once one of seven in the town - known for its sourdough bread. Mr Taylor spoke to the BBC about the family business history, saying: "In the Victorian era, my great-grandfather began to develop it (the business) more because there used to be a courtyard at the back. “Then in the 1920s, Strathaven became a town people would come to for day trips as the coaches which ran from Ayrshire to Edinburgh would stop there, so my family did a lot of catering towards that. There weren't catering companies so people relied on the bakeries."
