A barbershop on London Road is marking a triple landmark this year, including the 65th birthday of its owner today (20 January).
Celebrating its 75th year, Christopher’s on London Road is one of Bedford’s longest-established businesses.
And owner, Christopher Moore has been cutting hair and cracking jokes here for 50 years and now works alongside his daughter, Camilla who is carrying on the family tradition.
“My grandad H.W Moore rented the building and set up the shop in 1945,” said Camilla Moore. “We’ve got the original rent book framed in the shop.
“My dad started working here on his 15th birthday – exactly 50 years ago today – and later bought the shop. Not much has changed over the years, although once my dad had bought the shop and got a mortgage, he extended it slightly.”
“I love working here; it really has a family feel about it, I have customers that remember my grandad cutting their hair and he passed when I was very young so hearing about him means the world to me.
“Knowing we have the fifth generation of some families still coming to our shop amazes me, we’re so grateful for our customers who really feel like an extension of our family really.
“Our shop feels like a home from home to many people, we like to laugh and joke with our customers especially if they’re having a bad day we try and cheer them up and sometimes it works the other way round too.
“To feel like I’m carrying on our family business means a lot to me. I feel so connected to this shop and I can honestly say my dad really is my best friend, we get on so well, how many people are lucky enough to work with their best friend.”
Known for his sense of humour, Christopher likes to whip out a pair of sheep shears fairly regularly as a joke. “They’re out almost daily,” laughed Camilla.
“My dad doesn’t want to retire, it’s me who’s saying he deserves to start taking it slow by having an extra day off in the week but he’s resisting it saying he would miss the laugh and jokes at work,” said Camilla.
“He loves the atmosphere here in the shop and that no two days are the same and we genuinely love what we do. His dad – my grandad – retired in 1982 when he was 74 so my dad thinks he’s still got plenty of years left.”
Christopher trained in barbering at Mander College (now Bedford College) and Camilla followed in his footsteps. She has been working full time at Christopher’s since 2013 and is looking forward to many more years to come.
