A brief history of Leakers

The home of Leakers Bakery at 29 East Street has a long tradition of producing delicious things going back to the 18th century with the present buildings dating from the 1830’s.

This receipt from 1876 shows George Bradford as the Pastry Cook & Confectioner. With such a huge range of delicious sounding things that it’s amazing he fitted everything in such a small shop! If you look closely you can see that this was for a long outstanding bill.

G.S. Leaker bought the bakery in 1914. He was a Master Baker and a Gold Medal winner, and his wedding cakes were famous throughout Dorset. His son John, who installed the ovens, which are still going strong, followed him into the business. John’s daughter still bakes her exceptional Dorset Apple Cake for us today.

Dating back to the late 1940s, these ovens were originally coal fired. To the rear of the bakery, where bags of organic flour are now stored, there was formerly a pit, which fired the ovens until they were converted to gas in the early 1970’s.

Current owners, Caroline, Paul and Jemima took over in 2002 and have continued the time honoured methods used throughout the centuries.

Still retaining the original fittings from the 1950s, the shop itself has plenty of old-world charm – we hope you can visit soon!

Baking methods may have changed very little, but the team at Leakers are always coming up with refreshingly delicious new ideas!