German Pork Butchers in Britain

[Histres]

 On the 1881 Census Frederick Meyers had retired (at 51 rather young) perhaps the Rothermels knew the Meyers and took over the Pork Butcher business in the town? Anyone any ideas ??

Hello rothermelbird,
perhaps the following statements might give you an idea why the Rothermels came to Wellingborough:
1. Nearly the complete pork butcher market in the northern counties of England was in the hands of Hohenlohe emigrants.
2. These emigrants had managed to establish a close-knit family- and business network and hence enhanced chain migration from their home country, especially from the districts of Künzelsau, Schwäbisch Hall and Gerabronn.
3. The German immigrants knew each other well and recruited their personnel from relatives, neighbours and friends at home.
4. They knew the market in Great Britain and wherever a person, a journeyman, apprentice or servant was needed, they knew someone at home or they requested someone from their neighbourhood in their home country to fill the gap.

I doubt whether the Rothermels took over the Meyers' shop in Wellingborough because in the 1881 census there is a William Meyer with his family on the shop in 13 Silver Street. He is probably the son or a cousin of Frederick Meyer who had retired. The Rothermels presumably had their own shop in Wellingborough as had also the Franks.
Regards
Histres

[rothermelbird]

Dear Histress
Thanks so much for the information, it's interesting to know there were 3 or 4 Pork Butchers in these northern towns and it seems most/all were German. Did they set up shops in other parts of Britain ? I presume the Beef Butchers and Game specialists were English - or were they run by German immigrants as well?

[Histres]

Dear rothermelbird,
The German pork butchers mostly came into the country via Hull, spread out from there and settled in the industrial towns and harbour towns of northern England like Sheffield, Bradford, Leeds, Manchester and later also Liverpool. A second principal focus was of course the British capital London. In the course of a growing market during the second half of the 19th century they also set up numerous shops in smaller villages. Robert Roberts writes:"By the outbreak of the first world war it is doubtful if there was a single Northern town, large or small, that did not have its German pork butchers." The Germans were absolute specialists in pork butchering.
Roy E. Korner mentions: "Pork butchers were frequently listed separately in trade directories, because, unlike butchers who only sold freshly killed beef and lamb, they also supplied cooked meats and pork products in addition to fresh meat. Wherever German pork butchers arrived in England the local population tended to develop a taste for the range of cooked meats, pies and sausages which they produced. Prior to this the English had preferred traditional roast beef, lamb and mutton...".
However, trade directories show that in bigger towns there were also some local British pork butchers coexistent with the Germans. The question is whether they also offered such a wide variety of products and ready cooked meats to take away as the Germans did. 
The shop of the Wellingborough Rothermels was in 12 High Street, Wellingborough. Today this address is shown by googlemaps in Finedon, a small village just outside of Wellingborough. The Meyers shop was in the town centre, and if there hadn't been a High Street in Wellingborough itself in those times, the two butchers wouldn't have competed with each other.
Regards
Histres

[rothermelbird]

Dear Histress I think you may have it wrong about High Street Wellingborough. It did exist in the late 1800's. One of the Rothermel brothers actually married Ellen Pendred who's father ran the Star Inn at no 11 High Street, we think their butcher's shop at no 12 may have been next door.
In Kelly's 1906 directory Naomi Rothermel widow of John was no longer listed as running the shop. Thanks for all your information!

[Histres]

Hello rothermelbird,
You are right. The Star Inn still exists in Wellingborough. It's No. 10 in the High Street.  No. 12 is right next door and Street View shows that the right half of the building is occupied by a Chinese take-away, the "Wing Shing". So the Rothermels and the Pendreds were next door neighbours. The Meyers shop wasn't far away either. Anyway, I think that there was not much competition between the Meyers and the Rothermels as with their wide variety and enormous popularity of their pork products each of the two shops would have had sufficient customers.
Best regards
Histres

[rothermelbird]

Dear Histres, after looking at some of my research I realise that the Rothermels didn't call themselves Pork Butchers at all on the census returns! Just 'Butchers' one son George Carl left home and started his own shop in another town and called himself a 'Master Butcher' no mention of Pork at all! Would this have meant they sold Beef and Lamb and everything deriving from those two meats, including pies and sausages? If that is the case then they would not have been a threat to the Meyers who had a Pork Butchers shop nearby in Silver Street. Perhaps they did this on purpose as not to have competition?
Frederich Meyer retired early and his shop was taken over by his son William. I found a Frederich Meyer arriving in the Port of London in early 1851 but he sailed from Ostend in Belgium. Another son Frederich was an assistant Pork Butcher in Bradford in 1871, as you say all northern towns in England. It seems I made a big mistake presuming the Rothermels were pork butchers! Would this alter the whole story at all about men from Wurttemburg setting up only pork butchers shops??
Many thanks

[Histres]

Hello rothermelbird,
if there is no mention on the census returns that the Rothermels were pork butchers, they presumably were beef butchers and sold beef, lamb mutton, perhaps even game or poultry as you suggested in one of your last posts. That could have had to do with the Meyers as pork butchers in their close vicinity. This case, however, doesn't change the whole story about the men from Hohenlohe in Northern Württemberg. We can register the following: Most of the German butcher immigrants who opened shops, did so in the pork butcher business. Here they obviously occupied a niche in the market. Nevertheless, they were very flexible and some of them were both, beef and pork butchers, like the Funks in Sheffield or the Zieglers in Wakefield. Perhaps you find a photograph of the Rothermel shop in Wellingborough that names their trade above their shop window.
On the other hand most of the British butchers were beef butchers, but some also earned their money by selling pork products. I think it wasn't so much a matter of competition, I think it was more a matter of supplying a fast-growing population in the expanding industrial cities of England's North.
Regards
Histres

[rothermelbird]

Dear Histres Thanks! I have been looking at some old documents and found that on my greatgranfather's marriage certificate to Naomi Shaw in 1877 he was described as Pork Butcher as profession also on the birth of his first son in 1878 he was also a Pork butcher. On the birth  of other children he was either a Butcher or Master Butcher I suppose it was how the Registrar recorded the Profession.
When we went to Horlebach and spoke to elderly Mrs Ziegler she said her grandfather went to live in Sheffield when he first came to England around the same time as the Rothermel brothers but I did not ask whether they were butchers or not. Are they the same Zieglers as the ones in Wakefield?
The Rothermels owned the local shop in Horlebach and Mrs Zeigler let us have a photo which is on my website
http://www.birdchildsandgoldsmith.com/acatalog/Janice_and_the_Rothermels_of_H.html

Mrs Zeigler told us it was a grocer and that they had farm animals on the land behind the house including cows and pigs and slaughtered their own livestock. But I do not know if they sold meat in the shop or sold it on?
As for an old photo of the shop in 12 High street Wellingborough the only one I have shows the white shop attached to the Star Inn and it looks empty it is not the Chinese restaurant on Google Street view as this is next door. Best wishes

[SwissGill]

Hi Rothermel

Adolphus Happold was living with his brother George at 57 Gold Street (1901 Census). Adolphus was the son of William Happold and his first wife, Lena Vogt and was born Barrow-in-Furness, Lancs in 1871.

William Meyer born 1856 was the son of Frederick August Carl Meyer born 1830 Künzelsau and Susanne Rosina Shoepple. William married Mary Ann Frank 1880 who in turn was the daughter of Frederick Frank born 1824 who died 1895 Northamptonshire.

Katharina Christina Mayer born 1837 Künzelsau married George Frederick Hohenrein 1859 Kingston-upon-Hull.

John Rothermel is listed on the historical directory (Wright's) for Nottingham 1894-95 under "pork butchers".

There were Gronbach, Schonhut, Wagner, Hoffmann, Färber, Denner, Strecker, Abel, Bauer, Bräuninger, etc. families living as pork butchers in Nottinghamshire, to name but a few.

I still have to check out N'hampshire.

The above shows you how these families, many of them having emigrated to Yorkshire and the Northern counties came to other parts of England.

Another source would be the numerous adverts for staff placed in the newspapers of that time and advertising of pork butchers' shops for sale.

I cannot think that the Rothermels weren't pork butchers as this was such a different trade from beef butchery and could not be carried out at the same premises but have found no proof.

Hope this helps somewhat.