HICKLING in the 1920s:

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Butcher and slaughterhouse


We had one old established butchers shop on The Green.  It had its own slaughterhouse and had been in the Markin family for many ears.  The young Harry Markin and his mother kept it in the 20s, and a hefty fellow named Chapman did the killing.


Prime animals were selected from a local farm.  Monday was killing day for the beef:  it was a gory sight to see a bullock tethered close and Chapman would fell it with one blow from his poleaxe right in the forehead hen it was up on the block to hang and quarter,


Tuesdays was the time for squealing fat pigs.  These simply had their throats cut then they were hung up by their back legs for scalding and splitting:  the whole outside was soaked with hot water from a huge wooden tub then the hairs were scraped off and the animal was gutted and halved - and what meat this was!   


 A cut from where you could best afford, even a bag of crisp pork scraps could be had for sixpence [now 2.5p] - more than a meal for the average family…

Page created 6/11/21