Arkwright (Open All Hours) to be too small for the act. Arkwright and Gladys apparently never got married before Arkwright's death; Gladys claims he died to save the cost of the church. Arkwright (Open All Hours) Albert E. Arkwright, usually referred to simply as Arkwright, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the British sitcom, "Open All Hours", played by Ronnie Barker. Arkwright is the uncle of Granville and the proprietor of an old fashioned Yorkshire corner shop, which in the era of the programme (1970s and 1980s) was a product of a bygone age. Arkwright's signature characteristic is his stutter, which
Frances Barker & Son (1819–1875), the founder, was a practicing Christian and Freemason who formerly worked for James & George Simms, first as a child apprentice and then as a skilled precision mechanic and engraver. He later acquired J & G Simms, which traded between about 1822 and 1855 and build a reputation for finely engraved instrument dials and reticles. Barker used his considerable reputation as a skilled craftsman and those early social networks to establish his business. Frances Barker (1845–1920), the son of the founder of the same name, was one of eleven children. He married Elizabeth Weeks, whose father was a maker