Family butchers to change hands after 180 years

Callum Edge (second left) says it is time to hand over Edge & Son butchers to the next generation

An award-winning butchers described as “the cornerstone of the local community for generations” is about to see a major change as it celebrates its 180th anniversary.

Edge and Son in New Ferry, Merseyside, was first opened in 1844.

Callum Edge, who is the fifth generation of his family to run the business and has worked there since he was 13 years old, is set to hand over the business to a new set of owners.

The butchers will be run in partnership with a nearby farm Storeton Belted Galloways and butcher Jonathan Carrol.

Edge and Son was once voted Top Retailer of the Year in the BBC Food and Farming Awards, and was recently highlighted by Wirral Council as "a cut above the rest" as part of local campaign promoting independent businesses.

During the time the butchers has been open, it has seen two World Wars and periods of rationing where people were restricted on how much meat they could buy.

It also saw further decline in New Ferry following a devastating explosion that ripped through its high street in 2017, injuring 81 people and damaging 200 buildings.

The butchers lost its front windows as well as its shutters due to the shock of the blast, but it managed to reopen after one day.

Like many other businesses, the butchers saw an impact on trade in New Ferry following the explosion but it has since recovered.

Mr Edge started washing up every night at the butchers at age 13 after cycling there after school.

More than 50 years on, Mr Edge believes it is time to hand the business, which has a team of 13 staff, over to a new set of owners.

"I really believe I have a responsibility to the team here and if there is a legacy I would have, it’s that a lot of them have bought their own homes and it’s quite a young team.

"We are really proud of where we have got to."

The butchers has maintained its focus on producing high welfare and more sustainably farmed meat, something the new owners will continue.

New owner Jess Bowling, who runs Storeton Belted Galloways with her husband Tom, said: "What we want to do is recognise where the meat has come from.

"It’s really important each bit of meat is associated with that farm. People will know exactly where it has come from."

Mr Carrol said: "With the history that the shop has got, we have been here for 180 years and I do not see why we wouldn’t be here for another 180 years."