Bowyers
Encyclopedia
Bowyers was a large company based in Trowbridge
, Wiltshire
, England
, based manufacturer of meat products, with a particularly well known brand of sausages which are still produced today.
In 1805, Abraham Bowyer set up a grocers shop in Trowbridge. He became well known for his meat products, and particularly his sausages. As his business developed, Bowyer began to specialise in meat products. Merged with Wiltshire Bacon in Chippenham
and Calne & Harris in Calne
, Bowyers became part of the Marsh Bodiner Group. This allowed a capital injection, which resulted in the companies move into Innox Mill, Trowbridge in 1954.
Acquired by Northern Foods
in 1985, it was merged in 1990 with Palethorpes
of Market Drayton
into new company Pork Farms Bowyers
. In 2001, the Bowyers and Palethropes pork sausage business and brands were sold to Kerry Group
, to allow the company to concentrate on baked meat products.
The company was bought by Vision Capital in 2007, as part of a £160million divestment by Northern Foods. With European Union
laws focusing on the statutory need to produce Melton Mowbray Pork Pies within a defined distance of Melton Mowbray
, the company chose to close the Bowyers plant with the loss of 400 jobs, and invest £12million into the Nottingham plant to increase Melton Mowbray Pork Pie production. Some were subsequently offered jobs in the Pork Farms plant at Shaftesbury
. Modern day relation to Abraham Bowyer, Rosemaire, can still be found working in the local area, managing asses, of which she appears to have several.
The residual site at Innox Mill was proposed to be sold to Wiltshire College
to develop a new campus, with retention of the Grade 2 listed mill, and demolition of the 1950s industrial development. But these plans were dropped in December 2009, leaving the site with an uncertain future.
Trowbridge
Trowbridge is the county town of Wiltshire, England, situated on the River Biss in the west of the county, approximately 12 miles southeast of Bath, Somerset....
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, based manufacturer of meat products, with a particularly well known brand of sausages which are still produced today.
In 1805, Abraham Bowyer set up a grocers shop in Trowbridge. He became well known for his meat products, and particularly his sausages. As his business developed, Bowyer began to specialise in meat products. Merged with Wiltshire Bacon in Chippenham
Chippenham
Chippenham may be:* Chippenham, Wiltshire* Chippenham * Chippenham, Cambridgeshire-See also:* Virginia State Route 150, also known as Chippenham Parkway, USA* Cippenham, Berkshire, UK...
and Calne & Harris in Calne
Calne
Calne is a town in Wiltshire, southwestern England. It is situated at the northwestern extremity of the North Wessex Downs hill range, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty....
, Bowyers became part of the Marsh Bodiner Group. This allowed a capital injection, which resulted in the companies move into Innox Mill, Trowbridge in 1954.
Acquired by Northern Foods
Northern Foods
Northern Foods Ltd is a British food manufacturer headquartered in Leeds, England. It was formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index. The company was scheduled to merge with Greencore Group in 2011 to form Essenta Foods, the group being...
in 1985, it was merged in 1990 with Palethorpes
Palethorpes
Palethorpe's is a British producer of cooked meat and pastry products and was particularly well known for its branded sausages. Founded in 1859, it was bought by the Bibby Group in 1969 and then by Haverhill Meat Products before becoming part of the Northern Foods Chilled Foods division in 1991...
of Market Drayton
Market Drayton
Market Drayton is a small market town in north Shropshire, England. It is on the River Tern, between Shrewsbury and Stoke-on-Trent, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" and earlier simply as "Drayton" ....
into new company Pork Farms Bowyers
Pork Farms
Pork Farms is a Nottingham-based British producer and distributor of mainly pork-based bakery products.-History:In the early 1940s, recently City and Guilds qualified baker Ken Parr took out a £9,000 loan to set up his own pie shop...
. In 2001, the Bowyers and Palethropes pork sausage business and brands were sold to Kerry Group
Kerry Group
Kerry Group , is a public food company headquartered in Ireland. It is quoted on the Dublin ISEQ and London stock exchanges. It evolved initially from a local dairy co-op in the Munster region of Ireland...
, to allow the company to concentrate on baked meat products.
The company was bought by Vision Capital in 2007, as part of a £160million divestment by Northern Foods. With European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
laws focusing on the statutory need to produce Melton Mowbray Pork Pies within a defined distance of Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray is a town in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. It is to the northeast of Leicester, and southeast of Nottingham...
, the company chose to close the Bowyers plant with the loss of 400 jobs, and invest £12million into the Nottingham plant to increase Melton Mowbray Pork Pie production. Some were subsequently offered jobs in the Pork Farms plant at Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury is a town in Dorset, England, situated on the A30 road near the Wiltshire border 20 miles west of Salisbury. The town is built 718 feet above sea level on the side of a chalk and greensand hill, which is part of Cranborne Chase, the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset...
. Modern day relation to Abraham Bowyer, Rosemaire, can still be found working in the local area, managing asses, of which she appears to have several.
The residual site at Innox Mill was proposed to be sold to Wiltshire College
Wiltshire College
Wiltshire College is a tertiary college of education founded in 2002 by the merger of Chippenham Technical College, Lackham College and Trowbridge College. Consolidation will be completed with the merger of Salisbury College, which commenced in January 2008...
to develop a new campus, with retention of the Grade 2 listed mill, and demolition of the 1950s industrial development. But these plans were dropped in December 2009, leaving the site with an uncertain future.