Devon's long-lost butchers empire which boasted 17 shops

A long-lost butchers empire in Devon which once boasted 17 shops has been remembered thanks to Russell Carkett. He has shared the story of Dawsons Butchers Ltd - a well-known Plymouth business run by his father, Leonard, from 1947-67.

Leonard Carkett and Charles Foulkes, with the help of their wives Nora and Alice, were the first directors in 1947. They started trading from a shop in Brixton, near where the Foulkes' lived, and another at 257 Union Street, Plymouth. After about a year, Charles and Alice left and bought the assets of the two shops.

Leonard then took the Dawsons name and began trading alone from 15 Paisley St. Stoke - his first shop, reports PlymouthLive.

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In August 1950, an Austin A40 van (FJY 198) was bought (£452 6s 7d) for deliveries. The next shops to open were at 29a Belair Rd and 24 St. Georges Terrace. Within two weeks, the first Cornish shop opened in Fore Street, Looe, with Len's brother Joe as manager.

This coincided with the brothers' passion for sailing Redwing yachts. They successfully raced the Gleaner for several years, winning many trophies in Devon and Cornwall.

Leonard also enjoyed horse racing, playing snooker at Cattedown Social Club (men only), and racing greyhounds. He owned Black Bess and later Fireball XL5 (Susie), which won him the 1965 Westward Television Trophy.

During the Second World War, he served as an ARP Head Warden and Freemason. In April 1954, Leonard's eldest son Melvin was given 200 shares and became a director the next year. Robert (Bob) Crompton bought shares on 3rd October 1955 and also became a director in 1957.

The next shop was at 15 Tavistock Road, directly opposite what is now The Box in Plymouth. It was incredibly popular, with police sometimes needed for crowd control on busy Saturdays. Another Dawson shop opened on Christmas Day 1956 at 54 Victoria Rd Street.

Budeaux, followed by shops at 18 Fore Street, Liskeard, 36a Mutley Plain (previously Robinson Pork Butchers), and one at 27 Crownhill Road (where the flyover is now).

The back of this shop was home to Dawson's Bakery, which made pies, pasties, dough cake, hot cross buns and puff pastry. Large ovens and big mixers kept the other shops stocked.

Fred Bunker, Leonard's brother-in-law, was the manager - he was a friendly man with a distinctive hare-lip.

Back in March 1958, Dawsons opened a shop at Dean Cross, Plymstock. Around this time, a London Dock Strike was causing problems with meat imports, which may have led to the start of buying livestock from local cattle markets as people in post-war Plymouth were eating a lot of meat.

Leonard would drive his black Jaguar to Hatherleigh on Mondays, Newton Abbot on Wednesdays and Exeter on Fridays, sometimes also going to Holsworthy, Plympton and Saltash markets if they needed more stock. Walter Passmore of Okehampton would transport the cattle, sheep and pigs to the abattoirs of Plymouth City Council (later FMC) at Cattedown or Tavistock Plymouth and District Farmers.

The company also added another property in Crownhill, 5 Moorshead Terrace and 85 Fore Street, Saltash, while in 1959 the Looe shop was extended into its neighbour, selling fresh meat on one side and pasties, pies and bacon on the other.

As the 1960s began, Dawsons kept growing. A main hub known as the factory was set up under the Mutley premises which Melvin ran with George, another of Leonard's brothers.

From here, they supplied various shops, the Royal Navy, Plymouth Zoo, schools and residential homes. Johnny Nathan was in charge of making sausages, hogs and black pudding, as well as turning all the waste fat into beef dripping.

Bob Crompton left to open his own shop in Brixton and Miss Emily Swain, a loyal office manager, was made a company director.

Dawsons, the renowned grocery retailer, marked its presence with a new flagship store at 105 New George St. Plymouth near the Barley Sheaf public house on the 13th of July in 1961.

Despite being relatively small compared to modern-day superstores, it was quite a spectacle back in the day featuring a basement for cutting and refrigeration, a shop floor with self-service groceries, and an over-the-counter sales area. The premises also boasted the longest meat cabinet in the Southwest where Leonard conducted meat auctions every Saturday afternoon.

An in-store lift enabled easy transport from the basement, and boxes of groceries carrying Dawsons' own label lined the shelves.

Not stopping there, Dawsons expanded its operation by adding stores in 140 Beaumont Road, Plymouth, Torpoint, and even an additional storage room in King Street.

The next significant acquisition was an abattoir at Ermington, close to Ivybridge purchased from Mr. Knapman for £21,250.

This resulted in the formation of Lorna Doone Meat Products Ltd. on the 28th September 1962.

Dawsons had by now become a substantial operation with its own slaughterhouse, factory, supermarket and several stores.

But Leonard wasn't done yet. In 1963, Dawsons took a "counterpart lease" on a new building 40/42/44 The Broadway, Plymstock set up for a larger supermarket.

Expansion continued with a lease on the old Swiss Toy Shop at 33 Marlborough Street, Devonport, an extended storeroom in New George Street and further expansion of the Mutley shop into the adjoining National Westminster Bank premises. The final addition to the growing empire was a shop at 128 Queen Street, Newton Abbot.

For a few years, everything went well. But in 1966, a compulsory purchase order was placed on the Tavistock Road shop and another in 1968 for the Crownhill shop and bakery business for redevelopment. Sadly, the loss of these key assets, a credit squeeze by the government and likely over expansion, forced the two companies (Dawsons Butchers Ltd. and Lorna Doone Meat Products Ltd. ) into receivership by Barclays Bank.

A final meeting was recorded on 7th December 1967. So what happened to Leonard? He lost everything, but managed to make a living from a few loyal customers at the factory. This kept him sane. Then, in 1969, he took a lease on an ex-Coop butchers' shop in Swilly and Merrivale Butchers was born. But that's a story for another time.