Butcher shuts up shop

May 8 2008 by Dave Black, The Journal

A FAMILY-RUN butcher’s business is ending 120 years of tradition by reluctantly pulling the shutters down on its shop in a Northumberland village.

R Green and Son has been trading from its premises in Longhorsley near Morpeth since the business was first established in 1888.

It has built up both a national and local reputation for the quality of its meats and the standard of its service.

Now the retirement of Alan Green – the third of four generations of the family to run the business – coupled with the recent retirements of two members of staff, has spelled the demise of the Longhorsley shop.

From this weekend, operations will be concentrated in the neighbouring village of Longframlington, where a second shop opened in the 1970s.

The business will be run by Alan’s son managing director Chris Green, 37, and four members of staff and will continue to sell direct to customers as well as supplying meat to local outlets such as the Heighleygate Garden Centre and the Cook and Barker pub.

Mr Green has also pledged to run a special delivery service for people in Longhorsley who cannot make the four-mile journey to Longframlington.

The Longhorsley shop has been a hub of village life, and acted as a meeting place for locals, since the business was set up by Ned Green in 1888. He handed on to his son Bob, who passed on the reins to Alan, with Chris now taking on responsibility for running the company.

Throughout its history, the business has insisted on only sourcing its meat from high-quality local farms in the heart of Northumberland.

Yesterday Chris said: “It is very sad and it is with great regret that we are closing the shop in Longhorsley. However, we had two staff retire last weekend and with my father also deciding to retire it makes sense in today’s business conditions to concentrate on the one shop and maintain our high standards of quality.

“We know the shop has been the hub of the community for more than a century and that some local people do have transport problems. It has also provided a place where people meet but it was inevitable that its day would eventually come.

“The Longframlington shop has a larger processing area and we also feel that working alongside David Carr, who runs the village store, will benefit both of us. We feel we have a large and loyal customer base and that we can continue running a successful business.”

Ned Green originally ran his own slaughterhouse but these days the business uses a wholesaler to get its meat from a range of local farms. Chris said: “We have never gone down the line of selling foreign meats, because we are in the heart of Northumberland and surrounded by farms, and that will continue. We have built up trust and a name for the quality of our meat and our wholesalers know what our customers expect.”