"The business was established in the 1840s by John Butterworth of Audley. They were wholesale grocers and had a warehouse on Brunswick Street. John’s sons, Frederick and Ernest (hence F & E), took over the business in about 1890 and by 1912 they were also trading from Etruria Road, Hanley. Frederick started a fruit preserving business sometime in the 1880s or 1890s, trading under the Butterworth name. By 1928 he was selling under the ‘Beehive Preserves’ name. Butterworth’s were still trading from this site in 1955 under Ernest’s son, Reginald Ernest Butterworth. The sign, painted by Cooper Signs of Queens Road, Hanley, is thought to date from the late 1950s."
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A report about the sign by Kit Roberts appeared on StokeonTrentLive on 1st March 2021 and reads as follows;
North Staffordshire 'ghost' sign hidden from view for decades now visible again "It has been exposed as part of the demolition of Newcastle's former Zanzibar nightclub
A 'ghost' sign which is believed to have remained hidden on the side of a building for decades can finally be seen again - thanks to the demolition of an iconic nightclub.
The bulldozing of Zanzibar, in Newcastle, has revealed the side of the property which is thought to have been hidden from view for decades.
It advertises F&E Butterworth. Its 'beehive preserves' had been 'famous for over 75 years'.
Zanzibar, on Brunswick Street, last opened in 2004. It was previously a snooker hall and a dance hall.
Site owner Aspire Housing is planning to redevelop the site as part of a £15 million regeneration scheme.
Former StokeonTrentLive journalist Jenny Amphlett believes her grandad may have painted the ghost sign. Her grandfather Ewart Brown was a sign-writer from the end of the Second World War up until his death in 1963. He is famous for painting the famous frontage on Price's Teapots, in Longport.
Jenny said: “My grandad was a sign-writer, and the way industry worked at that time was that there would tend to be a sign-writer operating in an area and they would tend to do everything in that patch.
“Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stoke-on-Trent was my grandad’s patch and the late 1950s was very much the time he was active.
“If it’s correct that this dates back to the 1950s then there’s a very good chance that those brush strokes were put on there by my grandad with his paintbrush."
Though nothing is certain at the moment, the dating of the signage means it falls in both her grandad’s patch and the period when he was active, making him a strong candidate for its creator.
Jenny adds: “If this new one is his, and I’ve been speaking to an advertising historian who agrees with me, then of course that’s another connection.”
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A detailed description and the history relating to the sign by Sam Roberts on his website Ghostsigns can be seen at the following link: (
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