Jeroboams dozen

Jeroboams with its eight shops in smarter districts of London traces its beginnings back to 1934 when the eccentric Tommy Layton opened a wine bar opposite the British Museum.

T A Layton evolved into a rather smart wine merchant in Duke Street, Mayfair, where one Michael Broadbent was given his very first job in the wine trade, in 1952 – his mother having been an avid reader of what Tommy Layton wrote about wine. According to Broadbent, when he wasn’t delivering wine or taking orders, he...