Palethorpes facts for kids

Palethorpe's was a famous British company that made tasty cooked meats and pastries, especially their well-known sausages. It started way back in 1852! Over the years, the company changed owners a few times, becoming part of different food groups. Today, it's part of a company called Pork Farms.

The Story of Palethorpe's

Eat Palethorpes Pork Pies

Palethorpes Sausages

The story of Palethorpe's began with a man named Henry Palethorpe. He was born in 1829. In the 1850s, Henry started his own butcher shop in Birmingham. He noticed that a lot of cheap bacon and pork was coming into the United Kingdom from the United States.

Henry had a smart idea. Instead of just selling raw meat, he decided to make special meat products. He focused on making delicious sausages, and his business became very successful!

Growing the Sausage Business

In 1896, the company moved to a town called Tipton. At that time, Palethorpe's claimed to be the biggest sausage maker in the whole world!

During World War I, the company grew even more. They helped the British Army by supplying canned meat products for the soldiers.

However, after World War II, things got tougher for Palethorpe's. There were rules about how much meat could be sold because a lot of it was being imported. This helped other food businesses, like fish shops, do very well.

New Factories and New Owners

By the 1960s, big supermarkets started to become popular in the UK. This created more challenges for Palethorpe's.

In 1967, the company built a brand new factory in Market Drayton. It cost a lot of money, about £650,000, and employed 400 people. Because of this new factory, the old one in Tipton closed down in 1968. The old factory was later taken down and new homes were built there.

Building the new factory was expensive, and Palethorpe's faced money problems. In 1969, a company called Bibby Agricultural Group bought the business.

Changes Over the Years

The company changed hands again in 1980. It was bought by Haverhill Meat Products. This was a joint company owned by J Sainsbury and Canada Packers.

In 1985, the Palethorpe's factory even helped make the world's first product using Mycoprotein, which later became known as Quorn! It was a savory pie.

By 1986, the company stopped making products under the Palethorpe's brand name. They decided to focus on making food for other companies to sell under their own brand names. The Palethorpe's brand did come back briefly in the mid-1990s for some pies and pasties sold at Sainsbury's, but it's not used anymore.

In 1991, Palethorpe's became part of Northern Foods, which was the UK's largest maker of meat and savory foods at the time. Later, in 2007, Northern Foods sold most of its savory pastry business, including Palethorpe's, to a company called Vision Capital.

Palethorpe's Today

Today, the Market Drayton factory is part of a company called Addo Food Group. It employs about 700 people! The company still makes food for big stores like Asda and Sainsbury's, which they sell under their own brand names.

More to Explore

• Addo Food Group Website
• Addo Food Group Summary including information on the Palethorpes Bakery
• Brief History of Palethorpes in Tipton
• Palethorpes Tipton Factory 1935
• Brief History of Palethorpes from the J. Sainsbury Journal
• News of Palethorpes sale by Northern Foods in 2006
• National Archives article about favourite festive foods from the past including Palethorpes Sausages