Butchers Records

The Smith Son & Wilkie collection contains records of many interesting small businesses that may not usually make it to an archive. The butchers records within this collection are one example of this. The collection contains records of three separate butchers:

• Wolverhampton & District Butchers, Hide, Skin, Wool & Fat Co Ltd, Tempest Street, Snow Hill
• Frank Molineux, Meat Purveyor of Shifnal
• Thomas Evans and Sons, 12 Walsall Street, Wolverhampton & The Abattoir, Cleveland Road

This week, I have been cataloguing the  records of Thomas Evans and Sons. It has been really interesting to work through the records to see the development of the business and with some additional research put together a brief history.

Thomas Evans and Sons were Butchers based at The Abattoir, Wolverhampton with retail premises at 12 Walsall Street and other property at 29a Market Place, Willenhall; Bush Yard, Wolverhampton; and Cross Street, Willenhall. It is believed the business was started by Thomas Evans and run in partnership with his two sons Thomas Howard Evans and William Evans. Thomas Evans took a half share of the profits and his two sons took a quarter each.

The Abattoir, Cleveland Street and Walsall Street - 1:2500 OS Map 1957 edition

Before working with his sons it is likely that Thomas Evans was in a partnership with his brother George called T & G Evans, wholesale butchers, who took over a business called Walsall Butchers Limited on 21 March 1925.

The share holdings for this business were split:

• 500 – Thomas Evans
• 500 – The Executors of George Evans deceased
• 500 – Thomas Howard Evans
• 500 – William Evans
• 990 – Thomas Evans and Sons

This business ceased trading in 1925 when it was purchased, so it is likely that it was bought for the equipment. The Walsall Butchers Limited name was kept active until 1966 despite not trading.

In 1939 Thomas Evans and Sons joined the Midland Wholesale Meat Supply Association and from 1941 received a share of its surplus funds. The Midland Wholesale Meat Supply Association Limited was  incorporated on 5 September 1939 and their activities were directed by the Food Controller of the Ministry of Food. The primary role of the Association was to represent and administer the wholesale meat trade of the Midlands. The Association covered the Counties of Warwick, Stafford, Salop, Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, Northants, Rutland, Hereford, Worcester and Lincoln. At an Extraordinary General Meeting on 14 July 1954 it was decided that the Association should be wound up voluntarily and liquidated due to a notice received from the Food Controller.

Midland Wholesale Meat Supply Association Limited

Wolverhampton Wholesale Butchers was set up in around 1940 as a partnership between Thomas Evans and Sons, W J Campion and Sons and A B Blakemore and Sons. The partnership got most business from a contract with the Ministry of Food to slaughter animals as well as transport contracts. The profits were split between the partner businesses, a third each. This continued until about 1954 when the Ministry of Food slaughtering contract ended with the merging of the Minister of Food post with the post of Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. These political changes also signalled the end of the Midland Wholesale Meat Supply Association.

With the end of the Wolverhampton Wholesale Butchers came a new partnership in 1955 called Evans, Campion & Blakemore. This business consisted of the same partner firms, still splitting the profits equally three ways. Thomas Evans and Sons was represented by William Evans, W J Campion and Sons was represented by F Campion and A B Blakemore and Sons was represented by A F Blakemore. Evans, Campion and Blakemore and the individual partner businesses operated from the Wolverhampton Corporation Abattoir on Cleveland Road.

In May 1944 Thomas Evans died, and his funeral notice in the Express and Star stated that he was a member of a family of cattle dealers who had operated in Wolverhampton for over a century.

Thomas Evans Funeral Notice - Express & Star 15 May 1944

The business of Thomas Evans and Sons was continued by his sons William and Thomas Howard with a later name change to W Evans & Son (Meat Wholesalers) Limited. By 1955 Thomas Evans and Sons was no longer trading but operated using profit from other business interests including profit from Evans, Campion and Blakemore, income from the Midland Wholesale Meat Supply Association, profit from Wolverhampton Wholesale Butchers and rent receivable on properties owned. 1955 was an interesting year as it shows the transition between the businesses.

Profit and Loss Account 1955

In September 1973 W Evans & Son (Meat Wholesalers) Limited, who had been trading as ECB (presumably from Evans, Campion & Blakemore) went into voluntary liquidation.