Wednesday 18 August 2010

Hinton and R. Gunner, butchers, Wembley

For a few months this sign was largely hidden by a scaffolding erected next door but it is now once more fully visible. Painted twice (if not three times), it advertised local butchers.

ghost sign butcher Hinton Gunner Wembley Ealing Road dairy fed pork English and Scottish meat
It can only been seen in full from a narrow angle, which doesn't make it easy to read it. The best is to move a bit back, even if the last line is then hidden.

ghost sign butcher Hinton Gunner Wembley Ealing Road dairy fed pork English and Scottish meat
The most recent sign, in light blue letters, could date from the 1920s-30s as R. Gunner is mentioned in a 1931 issue of The Meat trades' journal and cattle salesman's gazette: The organ of the British, colonial, and foreign live stock and dead meat trades. It reads:
Dairy
Fed
Pork
R. Gunner
English
& Scottish
Meat
Only

The older sign, or maybe signs, is or are more difficult to read:
Hinton
P...
...
Scottish & English
Be... [Beef ?]
Grass Fed ...s
Dairy Fed Pork
.a..e. Cooked
Meats
.amu...
On...

It looks as if there could be more but the lines ovelap.

Location: Ealing Road / Pictures taken on: 30/07/2010

3 comments:

finney said...

Robert Gunner opened up provision shops & butchers in equal numbers before WW2, After the war Gunners expanded to Canada & after his fathers death Ernest the son went over there & sold 118 shops to Joseph Richards,Because of ill health Richards sold the shops to West Layton & the new group was called West Gunner who in turn sold to Vesteys Dewhurst in the 1980,s for 4ML,.
Dewhurst went into receivership in 1995

Sebastien Ardouin said...

Thank you very much for this information Finney!

Jane said...

Just seen this.
I think I have deciphered more of it – see here: http://www.janeslondon.com/2017/02/ghostsign-hinton-and-gunner-two-wembley.html