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7 months ago
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Britain's longest-serving butcher is hanging up her cleaver after more than six decades serving her community - as she blamed vegans and environmental concerns for a drop in trade in the last decade.
Pat Jenkins, 85, has worked in her late father's butcher shop in Pokesdown, Bournemouth, Dorset since 1958 but will pull the shutters down for the last time on Saturday after 66 years of continuous service.
But with the renewal of her lease coming up, which would have chained her to the unit for another decade, Ms Jenkins has decided to give herself the chop - both for her own sake and because meat is no longer 'in vogue'.
She believes younger generations' attitudes towards meat consumption are partially to blame for custom dropping off by a third in the last 10 years.
Ms Jenkins has reluctantly chosen to retire now because otherwise a lease will tie her to the unit for another ten years, by which time she would be 95.
Pat Jenkins, 85, with her grandson Fraser and son Andrew, is closing her butcher's shop in Bournemouth after working there for over 60 years
Queues outside Mason's in the 1980s, when customers would queue round the block for a Christmas turkey
Ms Jenkins with son Andrew in the early 1980s outside the shop. She began working under her father, Albert Musselwhite, as a teenager
Ms Jenkins' father Albert Musselwhite outside Mason's in the 1950s. When he died in 1973 she took the reins
Ms Jenkins on her wedding day in 1958, alongside her father. Around this time, she began what would become a life-long career as a butcher
Pat Jenkins in Mason's in the 1980s, surrounded by Christmas turkeys. She has previously said much of her custom for the year now comes from festive buyers
She said: 'I never would have thought that when I first started working here all those years ago I would still be doing it well into my 80s.
'I have never thought about retiring and I don't want to retire just yet but the timing makes sense. I don't think I can still do it at 95.
'I will be bored out of my head and I am already looking at situations vacant to see if there is something else I can do.'
Ms Jenkins' father Albert Musselwhite took over the family business, Mason's Butchers, in 1945 from the previous owner, Mr Mason.
Because everyone knew it as Mason's he decided to keep the name going - and it has remained the same since.
Mr Musselwhite died in 1973, prompting Ms Jenkins to step up and take the reins of the business herself.
Her son Andrew joined her in 1981 and he still works there at the age of 60, and grandson Fraser has worked in the shop too.
Throughout her decades-long tenure, the grandmother has dealt with the introduction of decimalisation, the mad cow disease crisis of the 1980s and the rise of veganism.
And as society has changed, so too has the high street of the Bournemouth suburb. Mason's is now the last one standing of what were 11 butchers on the three-mile stretch of Christchurch Road.
She added: 'The business has changed a lot over the years. Years ago meat was the thing to have, everyone had their meat and two veg with every meal and had roasts twice a week.
'But people have gone off meat, it is not in vogue at the moment. It has had some bad publicity and people now think it is not good for you or good for the planet.
'Veganism and vegetarianism is the hot topic with younger people. It seems that each generation coming up is less meat-orientated. But we have regular customers who have kept us going.'
Ms Jenkins also believes the increase in supermarkets has also led to a decline in customers.
At its peak the business employed five members of staff, but Mason's is now run by just Ms Jenkins and her son, who has retrained as a gas engineer.
Pat Jenkins in the 1990s inside Mason's butcher shop. She has worked non-stop in the shop since 1958 and is finally hanging up her apron
She previously predicted that her shop would come to an end within a decade because of changes to both meat consumption and shopping habits
Ms Jenkins with her son Andrew (right) and grandson Fraser (left). Andrew has retrained ahead of the shop closing for good
Ms Jenkins says she is already looking for something new to do to occupy her time - admitting she will be 'bored' when the shop closes on Saturday
She actually predicted the end of her business five years ago, as she feared the death of the high street would come for her shop.
She said in 2019: 'The main reason we have been able to keep going is our reputation - people know they will get top quality meat from us. They still say "if you want something good, you better go to Mason's".
'We have some regular customers that still come in every week but we only see most customers at Christmas for their turkey or if they want something special because they have visitors coming or something like that.
'But mostly people won't make a special trip anymore because there's nothing else on the high street. There used to be butchers and greengrocers and fishmongers, now it's just estate agents and beauty salons here.
'I doubt there will be any small shops left in five or ten years' time, including ours. The high street is dying, it definitely is.
'My grandchildren come and help out but they don't want to have anything to do with carrying on the family business. I don't think I would encourage them to anyway, because butchers and high street shops like this are a thing of the past.
'Business is a struggle but it's a way of life to me. We will keep going as long as we can.'
English (US)