The Engels family emigrated from Germany in the late 1800s and decided to settle in the East End. It was around this time that Joseph Engels was born. Years down the line in 1910 to be exact, Engels opened his bakery in Hackney with his beloved wife Kathleen. While tirelessly serving their community baked goods, the Engels suffered from relentless attacks due to the hostile attitudes towards German people in the First World War. The Engels bakery was unfortunately looted and destroyed. After the war, the Engels changed their family name to Ingle and shortly after this was the birth of Percy Ingle.
Post-war Britain was incredibly hard to navigate, yet Percy helped his family survive through such tough times. Baking was not just a job for Percy and his siblings, but a lifestyle he was committed to further exploring. Working his whole life as a baker alongside his mother and father (Kathleen and Joseph Engels) in Hackney, Percy Ingle decided to open his bakery in Clarence Road, Lower Clapton in 1954 with his wife Lillian and his newly born son Derek. Established in 1954 is more than a slogan, it is a measure of the Ingle family’s growth and history. Percy Ingle grew his singular business into forty bakeries by the 1990s. His son Derek, who Percy passed the business on by 2000 made sure the chain was prepared for the bustling high street culture, by adding another fifty stores to the Percy Ingle business portfolio. Ten years after its expansion, Derek Ingle later passed the family business onto his two sons Paul and Micheal.
Fast forward to the present day, Paul Ingle specialises in food preparation and innovation, whereas Micheal Ingle is in charge of daily operations and store visitations. Spanning across three generations of the Ingle family, this traditional bakery chain has upheld the same artisanal craft and values that were established sixty-six years ago, while focusing on modernising and helping Percy Ingle adapt to a dying high street. Last year, Percy Ingle’s bakery had a rebrand and is now known as INGLES in commemoration of its 65th anniversary. The rebrand consisted of trialling a new dark green colour scheme, away from its traditional green and orange palette. There was also a focus on environmental responsibility, in particular a reduction of plastic usage.
Unfortunately, after all these changes the Ingle business has suffered huge financial loss. Although, the business has not made an official statement- it is widely known that its entire network of shops will be permanently shut by March 2021, with some stores already closing their doors. The decrease in footfall and strict social distancing policies had a strain on multiple high street businesses, which have already been struggling because of COVID-19. Additionally, the rise in online shopping has meant that businesses are not receiving the same love they once were, and the field is overwhelmingly difficult for local high street shops. Unfortunately, this means INGLES has to permanently close all the stores around London and Essex.
A sad, bittersweet farewell to Percy Ingle’s bakery and thank you for serving our communities. It meant so much to me and many others, a truly integral part of East End working-class culture. I will never forget the excitement of purchasing a cheese roll before a school trip and cheekily spending my school dinner money on iced ring doughnuts or asking my mother whether we could get as many sweet treats as possible before getting my hair braided in Queen’s Market. Percy Ingle as a man and a business has a remarkably resilient history and some of that history is ingrained in every East Ender’s life. While this is the end of a very long chapter, it is also a chapter I am very grateful for. A chapter that has fed my inner child and healed the sorrows in my life. Thank you and goodbye Percy.
