Paxton & Whitfield
Paxton & Whitfield Ltd. is an English cheese company based in London . The origins of the traditional company go back to the first half of the 18th century. The company has been appointed purveyor to the court on several occasions , the first time in 1850. It is currently purveyor to the court of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles , the Prince of Wales .
history
Stephen Cullum had owned a cheese stand in Clare Market in London's Aldwych district since 1742 and, some time later, another shop on Surrey Street , number 24. He later partnered with Henry Paxton.
Cullum's son Sam opened his own shop on Southampton Street in 1772 and another shop on Swallow Street in the 1780s . In the 1790s he partnered with John (or Charles) Whitfield at 44 Old Bond Street .
The father and son businesses were merged under the name Paxton & Whitfield . In 1797 the company was registered without naming the actual founders, and has operated under this name without interruption ever since. The original shop at Clare Market had already closed in the 1780s. The Swallow Street store closed in 1835 and the company moved to 18 Jermyn Street and has been based on that street ever since. A year later, Sam Cullum died. In 1850 the company was awarded a Royal Warrant by Queen Victoria for the first time, i.e. it was appointed purveyor to the court. In the 1860s, the company struggled with problems for various reasons: on the one hand, the taste of customers had changed from traditional English cheeses to continental European products; on the other hand, dairy farmers were increasingly delivering milk to large industrial dairies instead of themselves Processing cheese or supplying small cheese dairies.
After the original partnership between Paxton and Whitfield ended, a Mr. Mann took over the company in the 1890s. In 1896 the company moved to number 93 on Jermyn Street , where the company's London headquarters are still located today. The next appointment as purveyor to the court was given by King Edward VII in 1901. His successor, King George V , also appointed Paxton and Whitfield purveyor to the court; he issued the Royal Warrant in 1910.
Fred Moore bought the company in 1929, followed by several changes of ownership through purchase or inheritance, since 1992 Arthur Cunynghame has owned the company. As crown prince, the later King Edward VIII appointed the company purveyor to the court in 1932, his brother and successor King George VI. issued its Royal Warrant in 1936. During the Second World War , the company had problems due to the war-related shortage of milk and cheese, it was at times a completely normal grocery store. It was only after the war that the actual offer could slowly be rebuilt by using existing contacts to traditional cheese factories. In 1972 the then "Queen Mum", Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon appointed the company to one of her purveyors to the court. Prince Charles issued his Royal Warrant in 1988, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Paxton & Whitfield purveyor to the court in 2002. The current owner, Arthur Cunynghame, already owned two cheese shops at the time of the takeover in 1992, one in Stratford-upon-Avon and one in Bath . He also renamed this Paxton & Whitfield, so that the company currently has three branches.
Winston Churchill noted, "A gentleman buys his hats at Locks, his shoes at Lobbs , his shirts at Harvey and Hudson, his suits at Huntsman and his cheese at Paxton and Whitfield" .
Today's range
Paxton & Whitfield now offers around 250 types of cheese, including well-known cheeses such as Cheddar and Camembert . The range also includes blue cheeses such as Stilton or Shropshire Blue . There are also offers of drinks to match the cheese such as wines, ale , cider or port wine . Typical cheese accessories such as various cheese knives are also offered.
swell
- Sue Arnold: A History of Paxton & Whitfield , Online , accessed August 8, 2011
- A Potted History , Online , accessed August 8, 2011
Individual evidence
- ^ The Independent
- ↑ Quoting in Sue Arnold: A History of Paxton & Whitfield Online ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed August 8, 2011
Web links
- The company's homepage (English)