Stephen Barker has done some research into the listed building where Barker’s Sweets is based.
He says it was built in 1889 and was originally intended as a Post Office, but was taken over instead by the Ancient Order of Foresters, which then gave its name to the building, Foresters Hall.
The Ancient Order of Foresters, a friendly society, was established in 1834, though it goes back to around 1745 and an older organisation called the Royal Foresters.
The ‘foresters’ in its title refers not to woodsmen but to one of the society’s founding principles, to assist their fellow men who fell into need ‘as they walked through the forests of life’.
Stephen believes the society closed in Long Sutton in 1991, and so was in the town for over 100 years.
Barker’s Sweets may not be in the town for that long, but Stephen feels there is always a place for a sweet shop.
He says: “Sweets are a treat, a little luxury item. After school kiddies come in with 10p or 20p for an after-school treat and with the older generation the reaction tends to be, ‘It’s just like the sweet shop I went to in my youth’.”