This ghost sign (which looks to us like it dates from the early 1900s) is located under the large shop window of what was once a bright butcher shop operated by The London Central Meat Company.
Today (2016) it's a restaurant called #LoveLunch!
The sign is located at 176 High Street in Egham.
We have been able to find a few fragments about the London Central Meat Company, as follows:
From the Epsom & Ewell history blog: (
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"EPSOM BUSINESSES 1911
This is one of the properties on the North Side of the East End of the High Street. These were all demolished by the start of World War II to enable the road to be widened - for more details see Epsom Heritage Page 5. The new properties were built in a completely different position so unlike the rest of this project it has been decided that it is pointless attempting to give a 'Current Occupier' as this would not be applicable.
A further complication is that the buildings were not numbered at the time and have therefore been presented under the owner's name and as far as possible in sequential order from west to east in line with the 1911 Census and photographic evidence.
London Central Meat Company,
High Street, Epsom
(Site Of)
Occupier in 1911 London Central Meat Company
Details of 1911 Proprietor This was another example of the 'invasion of the chain store' which was gaining ground at around this period. The London Central Meat Company had started in 1880 as a market stall operation in Tamworth, Staffordshire, but by 1900 it had over 100 shops and, like Eastmans across the road at Number 59, dealt mainly in refrigerated and frozen meat imports. In the late 1950s the name was changed to Baxters (Butchers) Ltd (the Baxters had long been involved). Baxters was eventually taken over by Dewhursts."
From Historic England: (
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"The London Central Meat Company premises in Stafford. The 1912 Kelly's Directory of Staffordshire records that the London Central Meat Company were operating from premises at 17 Crabbery Street, 20b Goalgate Street, 1 Marston Road and 107 Wolverhampton Road, Stafford. This shop is advertising 'Canterbury Lamb'."
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"London Central Meat Company, Pokesdown, Bournemouth
'Thursday Midday, Pokesdown' is written on the back of this image. Pokesdown was a small village between Bournemouth and Christchurch that became part of Bournemouth in 1901. It shows a traditional butcher's shop window of the The London Central Meat Co. Ltd. They had shops of a very similar design in many parts of England."
Fromthe Rushden Research Group, a 1956 article about The London Central meat Company from the local newspaper the Rushden Echo & Argus: (
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"Baxters
New Food Store Opens at Rushden
Up-to-date fittings ensure high standard of cleanliness
A new name – Baxters – has now made appearance in Rushden High Street, but this modern butcher’s shop with its refrigerated display counters and section for cooked meat, provisions and groceries, is actually a branch shop of an internationally known firm, the London Meat Co., Ltd.
Local residents will have noticed that these premises in the High Street have been taking on a new look during the past few weeks, and they will recall that they were previously occupied by Messrs. Pooles, and were used more recently as the Geisha Café.
The London Central Meat Company, Ltd., have had a branch in Rushden High Street since 1894, but due to the growth of their business and the need to provide more spacious premises equipped in accordance with present day requirements, they have found it necessary to acquire other premises.
he name of the new branch has been changed to Baxters, but the control of the company remains the same.
This change is in line with modern trends, and the long names which appeared in fascia signs in the past have given way to shorter and more appropriate names Mr. A. A. S. Baxter is chairman and managing director of the London Central Meat Co., Ltd.
Before the war the company had headquarters in London, but the nerve centre of their organisation is now in Northampton, from where all branches are controlled.
When the branch at Rushden was opened in the last century mainly imported meat was sold, but to meet the increasing demand for high quality English meat, the company now specialise in this, in addition to New Zealand lamb.
The design of the new shop incorporates many improvements, including wall and floor tiling, refrigerated display counters and the most up-to-date fittings to ensure a high standard of cleanliness.
In addition to the fresh meat department, a special section of the shop has been set aside for the sale of cooked meats, provisions and groceries.
The Manager
The manager of this new shop is Mr. Sharp, who is already well known to Rushden housewives, and it is hoped that many readers will take the opportunity of inspecting these new premises, which create a new high standard for shops of this nature.
It’s The Chairman’s Name
“Baxters” takes its name from Mr. A. S. Baxter, chairman and managing Director of the London Central Meat Co., Ltd.
Mr. Baxter joined the firm as assistant secretary and became managing director in 1933.
His wife is a daughter of Mr. Herbert Lea, who was one of the original partners and her brother is Mr. Horace Lea, a director of the company.
It was during the First World War that Mr. Baxter met the Lea family, when he was stationed in Northampton.
He is a qualified chemist and when the war was over he was considering a scientific career.
He had maintained contact with the Lea family and they then offered him a position with the London Central Meat Company.
They started with stall on a market
The London Central Meat Company story starts way back in 1880 when a stall was set up on Tamworth market by Mr. G. E. Lowe, a businessman. From his stall he sold meat.
Later, a Mr. Herbert Lea went into business and he and Mr. Lowe, determined to make a name for themselves, set up other market stalls in a number of towns in the Midlands.
Business was so good that the market stalls eventually became shops, and to-day the London Central Meat Company, Limited, owns almost 400 of them.
The present name was decided upon fifty years ago, before which it had several different titles.
Its headquarters too, have changed from time to time. At one time they were in Birmingham, then they moved to London and when the war broke out they established themselves in Towcester.
Then the company’s present offices in Northampton became available and they are now firmly established in Martin’s Bank Chambers.
Own Surveyor
From there a vast area, divided into districts, is controlled and the company even has its own surveyor’s department.
Mr. F. P. Blacklee is the estates manager and surveyor, and he is also a director of the company. He and his staff have recently completed the work for a £20,000 cold store at Southampton.
They hope to have the plant working by Christmas. There are other cold stores at King’s Lynn and Hardingstone.
The London Central Meat Co., Ltd., has its own slaughter-houses at Bedford, Hardingstone and Swaffham, and at King’s Lynn there is a factory dealing in cooked meats. These products are sold under the name of Lea and Baxter.
As mentioned above, the policy of using shorter names for their shops has been adopted, and several are run under the name of Baxter, Mr. A. S. Baxter being the chairman and managing director of the company.
When this famous firm started, they traded in imported meat, but in later years they specialised in the best-quality home produced with only the very best from abroad.
The staff total nearly 1,500 and the firm possesses a fleet of heavy transport and more than 200 delivery vans.
The aim of the London Central Meat Company is to ensure that customers get the best selection of supplies at the right prices and (equally important) to provide all fittings designed to promote cleanliness and to allow the least amount of handling of food."
and finally from Norman Finnilore on Flickr: (
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"The Baxters story aka London Central Meat Co.
Started as The London Central Meat co started in the 1890,s in Tamworth by a Mr Lea & a Mr Lowe.
They built about to 440 shops dealing in home killed & imported meat in England.
Baxters had abattoirs/depots in Gloucester & Northampton & depots in Chester, Southampton
In 1964 they changed the name to Baxters after the then chairman Arthur Baxter who had married Mr Lea,s daughter & they had a son Derek,
In 1974 Baxters were acquired by Brooke Bond Oxo until 1982 when they came under the Unilever banner,
In less than a year Unilever only wanted the tea & coffee business so the 260 shops & depots were sold to Union International (Vestey) trading as Dewhurst who sadly went into receivership in1995 after a 100 years on the high street,
Author Norman Finnimore the Meat Trade Historian on Flickr"