Mesnard's Butchers

South Green

Christmas Window 1965
Jeff Mesnard

The photograph  was taken at Christmas December 1965 and shows the display of Christmas turkeys ready for customers to buy for the festive season. It also shows me, on the right,  with John Matthews, on the left, who also worked in the shop. My father opened the newly built shop in 1960 together with B. Curtis Greengrocers next door. The two shops were built by Strachan Builders, Ben Curtis’s father in law.

My father moved his business to South Green after having had his shop in Laindon compulsory purchased by the Basildon Development Corporation which was building the new town in the 1950s/60s. He sold the business in 1966 to Kingston’s, the butchers, who had many branches stretching from East London into Essex; the business is now owned by the Belcher’s.

I married in 1965 in St. Mary Magdalen Church in Billericay High Street. If you take look at the Potash Stores photo on this website you will see Mr & Mrs Cordell outside their shop in 1955 with their daughter Margaret, it was Margaret that I married. John Matthews who is also in the picture went on to marry Lynette Podd her father owned Podd’s Grocers which was the shop to the left of the current Barclays branch in the High Street

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  • Anybody remember the name of the fish and chip shop at South Green (now Codfather) at around the 1987 era.

    By David Norris (01/12/2022)
  • The shop in South Green was sold to Kingstons who had about 20 shops in East London/Essex area they also had a branch opposite the church in the High Street, it’s now a hairdressers.

    By Jeff Mesnard (27/08/2020)
  • Which Kingstons did he sell to?
    Was it C. Kingston aka Dewhurst? My history hobby.

    By norman finnimore (12/08/2020)
  • Maynard butchers in Frinton was run by Reg Mesnard who changed his name to by deed poll to Maynard, he was the brother of Charles Mesnard who ran the South Green Shop, so Reg Maynard was my uncle, shop was taken over by my cousin Brian Maynard

    By Jeff Mesnard (19/01/2019)
  • This may be wrong but is there any link with “Maynard’s” butchers in Frinton ? This was my a great uncle ??

    By Daniel Hosgkinson (16/12/2018)

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