Ice cream firm closes after 127 years

The business was started by Giuseppe Parravani after he left a small village near Naples in Italy and headed for East Anglia

A long-running ice cream business which first started production when Queen Victoria was on the throne has permanently closed.

Parravani's Ice Cream was founded in Chedgrave, Norfolk, in 1898 before moving operations to Beccles, Suffolk, in 2012. The family-run firm, which made traditional Italian ice cream, was then sold to new owners seven years ago.

According to administrators Parker Andrews, the business has now gone into a voluntary winding up process.

A statement in the window of the business reads: "It is with great sadness that we are now permanently closed for business. We would like to thank all our customers for their loyalty over the years."

This sign, which has been put up at the company's Beccles site, announced the closure

The business was started by Giuseppe Parravani after he left a small village near Naples in Italy and headed for East Anglia.

Mr Parravani's initial operation used a pony and an ice cream cart and continued to grow until his death in 1931, at the age of 47.

For the next 87 years it was run by generations of the Parravani family, catering for customers in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex, before being sold.

In 2022, the company celebrated its 124th anniversary, making it the longest established ice creamery in the UK.

Parravani's Ice Cream has closed down after trading for 127 years

However, last Friday a meeting was held with creditors and the board of directors, and the decision was made to wind down the company.

Parravani's Ice Cream and the Parravani family, which no longer owns the company, have been contacted for comment.

'Part of the landscape'

Historian and mayor of Beccles, Barry Darch, described the closure as a "sad day" for the town.

"The Parravani's ice cream vans have been part of the landscape in the area for many decades," he said.

"They provided several generations of local people with high quality ice cream.

"The closure is a significant loss to the local economy and comes just a few days after the closure of the Coopers hardware shop in the town."