BARKER AND STONEHOUSE TAKES OFF

It’s 1946 and the Second World War has just come to an end. But for two young RAF men, a new mission is about to take off. Charles Barker and Alex Stonehouse set about creating a furniture store aimed at delivering a little pizzazz to a weary post-war Britain.

Starting out in Stockton-On-Tees, the company soon opened a further store in Middlesbrough as it put down roots in and around the north-east. Newcastle followed and over the years new stores were established in Gateshead, Darlington, Hull, Knaresborough, Leeds and Nottingham. In 2013, a London store opening in Battersea signalled our debut down south, followed by Hove and Guildford in 2017. Outlets in Middlesbrough and York complete our current showroom line-up. 

ANY COLOUR AS LONG AS IT’S GREEN…

The environment is something we care about here at Barker and Stonehouse. That’s why many of our stores have a ‘living wall’ on the side of the building. Besides looking lovely, it’s also home to all kinds of natural flora and wildlife. In fact, our Teesside Park store has the best green credentials of any furniture retailer in the UK. We’ve also been recycling packaging for the last decade and are founder members of the re-forestation initiative Trees4Trees.

A FAMILY BUSINESS

To this day we’re still family run. In 1974 the Stonehouse side of the business was bought out by Charles Barker’s son Richard. His fresh energy and drive moved things up a gear as the company expanded. Today he’s company Chairman working alongside son James who’s been Managing Director since 2003, bringing a wealth of marketing and retail experience to the business.

Of course, back in the day when the company started, furniture could be summed up in one word: functional. Buying for looks or design was unheard of for most folk in ration-book Britain.However, people were just as house-proud as they are now and wanted to improve their homes. We’re helping people do very much the same today, only on a much grander scale, with everything from high end designer brands to funky up-cycled furniture and the very best of British craftsmanship.