A bowed shopfront opens into an exceptional working bakery where ovens, mixers, storage and clocking-in equipment preserve the architecture of production.
Quick facts
- Date
- Early nineteenth century frontage; later nineteenth-century bakery additions
- Architect / designer
- Designers not identified in the designation
- Type
- Historic bakery shop, offices, ovens, machinery and rear working ranges
- Designation
- Listed building, Category A (LB45230)
- OS grid reference
- NX 05815 60903
Architecture and continuing use
The harled two-storey front has bowed and Venetian-pattern shop windows beneath attic dormers. Behind it, gabled brick ranges contain ceramic tiling, iron columns, timber bracing, ovens and historic bread-making machinery.
Its story
The business was established in 1868 and developed within earlier King Street premises. Council-supported conservation work completed in 2024 repaired the building while its working bakery use continued.
Why it is included
It is one of Scotland’s finest surviving historic working bakeries and a rare record of Stranraer’s locally made brick and food industry.
What to notice
- Bowed timber-and-glass shopfront.
- The gabled bakery range extending behind the street.
- Surviving ovens and machinery, visible only where the business permits.
Reading the surroundings
Visit as a customer during current opening hours. Production areas are working premises and are not public unless the bakery expressly authorises access.
Timeline
- Early nineteenth century frontage The business was established in 1868 and developed within earlier King Street premises. Council-supported conservation work completed in 2024 repaired the building while its working bakery use continued.
- Present Operating family bakery and shop.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
Machinery and production layouts can change with business needs; no access beyond customer areas is implied.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Gillespie's Bakery, LB45230 — Designation status, mapped location, construction phases, fabric, authorship and architectural or historical interest.
- Dumfries and Galloway Council: Stranraer CARS final report — Current bakery use, conservation project, repair completion and building significance.
Location
OS grid reference NX 05815 60903 · Location confidence: High: the statutory designation supplies an official mapped National Grid Reference and the current source confirms the Place relationship or present identity. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
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