Author Margaret Dowland
Southrepps has been well served with butchers over the years, with butchers being recorded in both Upper and Lower Street. Many of them were listed as pork butchers. Verbal history recalls that pork was sold directly from Garden farm when it was a Market Garden. Also meat in general was sold from Wayside on Long Lane near to Lower Street.
There were pork butchers in Upper Street but the main butcher’s was at the Crown Inn operating from the out buildings, where there was also an abattoir. The first written record we have of this is William Blogg in 1851, who was also the Licensee of the Crown Inn. He then disappears from the records. Thomas Bird takes over in 1881. The Crown closes in 1904 but the butcher’s continues with the shop moving into the main premises. By 1936 Edward Bird now runs the butchers to be succeeded by his son Frank in the 1950s. Frank is the last butcher in Southrepps with the shop closing in 1995 when Frank retired. The abattoir closed in the 1960s. Slaughter day at the abattoir was Mondays a source of great interest to the children of the village. This document shows some of the things sold by the Birds.
All photographs Alison Oliver.
To learn more about the individual butchers click here.