History of Barkers

Ernest Morton Barker started to make items of furniture, which he sold outside his residence at Fitzwilliam Street in the early part of the 1920’s.

By 1931 the company expanded, had a small number of outlets and became a limited company.

Then the Second World War had begun. The country started throwing all its resources into the defence of the nation and the Ministry of Defence commandeered the company van. It was a time of consolidation for the firm. During this period, Ernest William Barker went to fight for his country and things became very tight on the home front. In 1945 after the allies had won the war, prospects were still bleak as the economy slowly began to pick up.

The 1950’s experienced highs and lows and Ernest William Barker and his father, continued to work together, with the help of a small team, running the two shops in Hillsborough and the shop at Firth Park.

In the late 1960’s Ernest Stuart Barker joined the firm. He had the vision to see that during this period and the early 1970’s, the furniture industry was changing. As the vast increase in private transport became available, the demand diminished for small furniture shops.

By the early 1970’s one vast site was purchased, consisting of two large buildings on Trickett Road and Dodd Street. The small independent shops were sold and Barkers Furniture opened the present super store on Trickett Road.

In 1982 Sheila Barker (wife of Ernest Stuart Barker) joined the firm with a wealth of knowledge in accounting, administration and organisation skills, having worked at some of Sheffield’s largest firms.

In September 1999, Neil Stuart Barker came into the business and is presently the 4th generation of the Barker family to be a director at the store.

In March 2000 the warehouse and bedroom centre site was purchased. The site, which is three minutes walk from Dodd Street, has helped expand the company. Since then three stages of building work have been completed, which has tripled the size of the site. The last stage of building work in 2006, saw the addition of the Flooring Centre.

2007 has seen the refurbishment at the Upholstery and Dining Centre completed.

2008 and 2009 saw the whole country hit by recession. At Barkers, we stuck to our guns and kept doing what we have always done. Offering great value furniture, flooring and beds. But most importantly, keeping our very high levels of service, from point of order, right through to the goods being delivered. This has carried us through the hard times and taken us into 2010 with a very positive outlook.