A slice of history with McCann's Bakery

McCann’s Bakery, also known as the Victoria Bakery, was established in 1837 by the McCann family from county Louth, when Thomas and Matthew McCann opened a Bakery at Nos. 20 and 21 Castle Street. 

Thomas’ nephews, Arthur and James, established an extensive grocers’ business in Hill Street, constructing the Milestone Building in the 1870s. When their business partnership ended in 1892, Arthur took sole control of the Bakery, moving it to a new site (across the road) in Castle Street in 1894, where it would remain for another century. 

As the population increased, the requirement for daily fresh bread became more important. State-of the-art equipment was installed in the early 20th century. Together with improvements in raw materials, especially flour, the Bakery was well equipped to meet rising demand.

As Newry became a border town in 1921, business suffered as customs tariffs on confectionary products meant McCann’s could no longer compete with bakeries south of the border. Despite this, as bread prices soared in the 1920s the Bakery offered unsold bread from the bread vans to impoverished families for a ha’penny per loaf.

Like many towns in Britain and Ireland in the 1930s, Newry faced a period of economic decline. The growth of motorised transport led to increased competition from bakeries in Belfast. Surviving due to staff and customer loyalty, in 1937 the Bakery celebrated its centenary in Newry Town Hall.

The introduction of rationing during the Second World War affected the supply of flour and other bread-making material due to shortages and rising prices. 

Restrictions on the use of white flour were lifted in the mid-1950s. McCann’s invested in new machinery, including new ovens, dough mixers and slicing and wrapping machinery for loaves. With an increase in production capacity, batch bread and pan loaves were produced at a rate of around 1,000 per hour. 

As much of Castle Street and North Street were demolished in the late 1960s to make way for a dual carriageway, the Bakery also underwent redevelopment and expansion. Equipped with modern machinery, the new extension opened in February 1969.

The business faced many challenges and opportunities during the Troubles. The As far back as the 1950s a generator was maintained in the bakery, helping to cope with the many power cuts which occurred and enabling uninterrupted production. In 1973, the admission of the UK and Ireland to the EEC (later EU) enabled McCanns products to be traded in the Cooley Peninsula for the first time since the 1930s. The business flourished and expanded into the European market.

By the mid-1980s the growth of supermarkets had a considerable effect on trade. Door to door sales were no longer the major outlet and wholesale trade increased. Despite investing in new equipment to produce new products and facing increasing competition with larger firms and changes in the bakery market, McCann’s eventually ceased operating in Newry in 1996 after being taken over in 1990 by Irwin’s Bakery in Portadown.

Next week’s article will look at the influence of the McCann family on the development of the Bakery.

Slices of History: Memories of McCann’s Bakery is open free of charge during Museum opening hours and runs until the end of August 2024. For further information on the exhibition please call 0330 137 4608/4308 or email [email protected]

The Museum is currently offering free tours of the main exhibition galleries on Wednesdays at 2.00 pm. These must be booked in advance by calling our Education Officer at 0330 137 4422. 

Newry and Mourne Museum is open Tuesday – Saturday 10.00 am – 4.30 pm. Please call 0330 137 4422 or email [email protected] for further information.

Please visit our website at www.visitmournemountains.co.uk/museums/newry-and-mourne-museum