I’m not sure that I should own up to this but I remember the local Sainsbury’s shop in Crouch End when it was a service only, fully tiled, old fashioned grocer. As it happens the Prickett & Ellis office at 82 High Road, in East Finchley used to be an old Sainsbury’s too. Here’s an archive photo from 1954 showing women measuring out butter – pretty much where I sit now.
Photo copyright of The Sainsbury Archive, Museum of London Docklands.
Sainsbury’s was started in 1869 by a very young couple, Mary Ann Staples, daughter of a dairy shop owner, and John James Sainsbury, son of a craftsman, who opened their first shop on Drury Lane the day they married. Shops in Kentish Town and Islington followed shortly afterwards (bit of a North London theme) and their success was clearly because the couple really cared about the cleanliness of their shops and the quality of their produce. While many people in London sold watered down milk or unclean food, Mary Ann dreamed of having the “best butter in London”.
One of the couple’s first colleagues, Sarah Pullen, recalled “Mrs Sainsbury… made the shop famous for the quality of its butter. She was always up very early in the morning and took great pride in the cleanliness of the shop”.
In 1882, Sainsbury’s started to offer its own brand products at its stores for the first time. This was a year of great change for the Sainsbury’s as they established the company’s first depot on Allcroft Road, near the shops in Kentish Town, where goods from suppliers could be stored in greater quantities than before. With the addition of its own bacon-smoking stoves at the same location, this represented Sainsbury’s first foray into producing its own goods for sale.
The East Finchley branch opened in June 1912 and we have a description of it in the local press: ‘Two long and well laden counters which extend the full length of the shops, and in addition to the ordinary stock rooms there are up to date cold stores. Peat smoked bacon is arranged in neat stacks, its very appearance betokening its appetising character, York, Cumberland and Irish hams are abundantly displayed, in addition to constant supplies of Canterbury lamb and cooked meats.’
(Our thanks to The Archer for the bringing this quote to our attention in their March 2016 issue).
In 1882, Sainsbury’s started to offer its own brand products at its stores for the first time. This was a year of great change for the Sainsbury’s as they established the company’s first depot on Allcroft Road, near the shops in Kentish Town, where goods from suppliers could be stored in greater quantities than before. With the addition of its own bacon-smoking stoves at the same location, this represented Sainsbury’s first foray into producing its own goods for sale.
Subscribe to our blog
