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Barrett’s in England’s Lane, Belsize Park, attracts shoppers from far and wide |
Tradition at the heart of England’s Lane
For the past 40 years, Bob Enright has upheld the good name of a family butcher’s after taking over from three generations of former owners, writes Don Ryan
BOB Enright came to Belsize Park in 1963. He was a butcher by trade, and London at that time had lots of establishments dedicated to the supply of meat. The NW3 area had 26 butcher’s shops and Bob became manager of one of these, Barrett’s, in England’s Lane.
“It’s been around since before the old king died” is a Cockney expression, and Barrett’s the butchers has outlived several old kings. It has also out-lasted nearly all the other butcher’s shops in the Hampstead area. Today only two remain: Barrett’s and JA Steele in Flask Walk, off Hamstead High Street. I know, of course, that there are quality butchers in other parts of Camden and Islington.
The Barrett family first set up shop in 1897 and were well established and highly regarded by the time Bob became manager. When Fred Barrett died in 1971, followed shortly afterwards by his wife, the family sold the shop to Bob.
He could not afford the market rate for the business, but, fortunately, the family wanted to preserve the business as a memorial to Fred and sold it to him at well below its true value.
They also gave him a 999-year lease on the shop at a peppercorn rent. This fact and his regard for the Barrett family’s reputation as high-class butchers, explains why after almost 40 years as owner, he would never consider changing the shop’s name.
“Three generations of the Barrett family had built this business and Fred Barrett was one of Britain’s greatest butchers,” said Bob.
Fred was a Master (chairman) of The Worshipful Company of Butchers, one of the City livery companies that elect the Lord Major of London. Bob is also now a member of this ancient and prestigious body. Today, business is good and the produce is in great demand. The shop has a reputation that extends far beyond the local area.
Customers come from far and wide. But in the late 1990s, following the BSE scare, times were hard. The business was almost bankrupt, but Bob felt he owed it to the Barrett family to try and save the shop. He decided to take a chance and re-mortgaged his house and hoped for better times ahead. Slowly turnover increased and the shop became solvent again.
But what motivates busy shoppers to make the special effort and go to Barrett’s? “The quality of the meat,” Bob says without hesitation. It comes to us in carcass form, then we butcher it ourselves, but first we let the carcass hang and mature, in the case of beef for three weeks. The water seeps out and the connective tissue softens. This natural process increases the pure meat content, enhances the flavour and tenderises the meat.”
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