Member of the Month
The Craft Bakers Association is delighted to announce Lily’s Pork Stores as our July Member of the Month.
For more than 70 years, Lily's Pork Stores has been a familiar name in Sheffield. What began as a small family bakery has grown into a much-loved independent business, built on generations of dedication, traditional baking and strong community values.
The business was founded by Ray Glover and lovingly named after his wife, Lily, who was the heart and soul of the bakery. Today, the business continues to be run by the next generations of the family, proudly carrying forward the values and standards that have made Lily's such an important part of the local community.
At the heart of Lily's is a simple belief: family comes first. That philosophy can be traced back to the bakery's original oven bottom bread cake recipe, created more than 70 years ago and still used today. While the process has been adapted to modern equipment, every bread cake continues to be turned by hand, just as Ray insisted. His belief that he would never sell anything he wouldn't feed to his own family remains the guiding principle of the business.
Over the decades, Lily's has shown remarkable resilience. Around 40 years ago, the widening of Penistone Road meant the original bakery had to be demolished. In an incredible achievement, the team closed the original shop on a Saturday afternoon, moved just 60 yards to a new premises four times the size, and were baking again by Monday morning, ensuring customers experienced as little disruption as possible.
Family at Lily's extends far beyond the Glover name. Many members of the team have worked at the bakery for almost 30 years, becoming part of the extended Lily's family through their dedication, loyalty and passion for producing high-quality bread and confectionery every single day.
Those family values also extend into the wider Sheffield community. Lily's supplies businesses across the city and has built lasting relationships with customers who continue to support the bakery year after year. Excellent customer service has always gone hand in hand with exceptional baking, creating a reputation that has stood the test of time.
As long-standing members of the Craft Bakers Association, Lily's has always valued the support the association provides to independent bakeries. Their light-hearted reflection that the CBA "doesn't cost a lot of dough and rises to the occasion" perfectly captures the warm relationship they have built over many years.
More than seven decades after it first opened its doors, Lily's Pork Stores remains a shining example of what makes Britain's independent bakeries so special. Built on family, craftsmanship and community, their story continues to inspire, and we are delighted to recognise them as our July Member of the Month.