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CONGRATULATIONS to Nantwich businesswoman
Julie Clewlow who has brought a Nantwich clothing name back to town.
Customers of her shop, Julie at Ruth Rae, in Hospital Street, can now
buy garments with a Baronia label in them. True, it is strictly Baronia
by Gollas, but the name of the famous Nantwich factory lives on.
The garments are made in
Frankfurt and the firm was exhibiting in London when Julie overheard a
representative say the name Baronia. Assured that it was the "Nantwich
Baronia", she placed an order.
Clearly the materials in the
luxury range and the workers are German - certainly not Dabbers - but as
long as the world still sees the name Baronia, I am all right with
that.
Julie told me that she
had been the proprietor of Julie at Ruth Rae for eight years, taking
over the business when Mrs Rae retired. She had previously been in
business in one of the town's many (at that time) antiques shops.
She has a childhood link with
Baronia as she remembers taking meat from the family business to the
firm's canteen. "That was round the back in Arnold Street," she
recalled.
IN case you are not aware of the Baronia
factory's history, let me tell you. The
Manchester firm of John Harding opened the Nantwich branch of their
empire (they also had a factory in
 Crewe) in 1872. As it was built in
Barony Road - next to the site on which the Wood Memorial Chapel would
be built in 1881 - it was called Baronia. After
having several owners, including a former managing director, it was
closed down by the then owners - another clothing firm, Kindler's Ltd - in 1989 and was
sold to a property developer in 1993. It is now Baronia Place (left).
lTo
see Julie's latest fashions - especially the Baronia range - visit
www.ruthrae.co.uk. Or you can go
to the Gollas website on www.gollas.de.
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built in 1881.