Maypole Dairy

Well, here I am back this week with the article on Maypole Dairy I promised you last week!

Way back in February 2016 I blogged about some holiday connections I'd found between Loughborough and Pembrokeshire, and one of those was the Maypole Dairy which I found operating as a cafe in Pembroke Dock. 

More recently, my memory has been jogged by a photograph on Facebook of the former Maypole Dairy in Swadlincote, the sign above the shop windows having been uncovered during some recent renovations. So, I thought it was about time I found out a bit more about the firm.

You can see from the picture of the Loughborough branch that it was situated exactly where the entrance to the Carillon Court shopping centre is, including the entrance to Topshop and the newsagents. To the left is Barclays Bank with its original gable end before it was modified, and to the right is what is now Caffe Nero, which at the time of the photo was probably Joseph D. Marsden's grocery shop. Marsden's shop has his initials carved into a plaque near the top of the building.

So, Maypole Dairy and its history. In the early 1800s the Watson family owned a provisions business in Birmingham, a business which was taken over by Geroge Jackson in 1859, and traded as Medova Dairies, but three of the Watson brothers were apprenticed to Jackson. Medova's business was mostly centred on butter, but when margarine was introduced, the Watson broke away from Jackson's business and created the first Maypole Dairy Company shop in Wolverhampton in 1887. The shop concentrated on the sale of butter, lard, and the newly developed margarine. At the same time as George opened the Wolverhampton shop, his brother Charles opened a Danish dairy in Wednesday, and in 1889 settled on a headquarters in Manchester.  

Strangely, George and Charles and their brother Alfred, re-joined Medova in 1898, and specialised in butter and margarine, but also sold eggs, tea, and condensed milk. They were careful not to compete against each other, so their respective shops were always in different locations - Charles focussing on the north, Alfred in the Midlands and Medova in the south and east. 

In 1912 the company reported a net profit of over £550,000. the majority of which was shared with the shareholders, the profit-sharing scheme having been introduced in 1890. By 1918 there were a staggering 889 Maypole branches across the country, and the Medova name was used only for branded products. Despite having so many stores, the company's reliance on fats from abroad to make margarine in England and Ireland, proved troublesome during the war years, although they were still successful enough to open a large factory in Southall - the Maypole Margarine Works in 1915 - which employed around 650 people, was the largest margarine factory in the world and by 1918 Maypole had around 50% of the market. 

Interestingly, competitors actually imported the finished product from places like Holland, and Maypole used the "buy British" idea to ensure their own survival. This proved a successful campaign during the war and for a few years afterwards. Sounds a lot to me, but turnover in 1921 ran to in excess of £36m, with a net profit of 3%, equivalent to £1.1m.. Despite these seemingly large figures, profits began to dip and in 1924 Maypole became part of the Home and Colonial group, but continued to expand, by 1928 having 1,040 shops, the 1000th having opened in 1926, and increasing the range of goods on sale to include jam and biscuits.

The depression of the 1930s did not leave MAypole untouched, and around 1934, profits had fallen to around £312,162, 28% less than they had been in 1921, and staff in many shops were 'let go'. 

It is generally considered that the success of the Maypole Dairy was down to its 'pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap' philosophy, its concentration on the basic essentials, and the location of its shops which were often in working-class areas.

There existed a Maypole Dairy in Loughborough at the time of production of the 1927 street directory, in which it was listed as being at No.21 Market Place, along with Home and Colonial at No.6, Joseph Marsden's at No.8 and Lipton's at No.18. By the time of the 1939 directory, Maypole and Home and Colonial are listed as being at No.6, Marsdens at Nos.7-8, but I can't see Lipton's in Market Place. As Burtons are listed in the 1939 directory, I'm wondering if the original Maypole was in that funny block in the middle of the Market Place which was demolished in the late 1920s-early 1930s? The Maypole Dairy in Rushden, Northants, also moved location too, from one shop on its High Street to another, ending up next to Woolworth. Loughborough's Maypole Dairy, the Home and Colonial Store and the Marsden store were all still located in the same Market Place shops in the 1962 directory. 

Now my research is a bit hazy! When I arrived in 1978, these stores had disappeared, and in their place was the Charnwood Precinct. I'm not sure when this came into existence, but I think it was around 1973-4 that the precinct was built. I'd welcome any info on this later period in the history of the Maypole in Loughborough if anyone has any!

The Maypole Dairy shops themselves were often highly decorative, with beautiful mosaic floor panels showing the company name, just inside the door, with marble counters inside, again with the company name on. Maypole engaged the services of some of the country's top shopfitters of the time, like Harris & Sheldon and Parnall & Sons. As can be seen in the photo of the Loughborough shop, the company name appeared in gilded lettering with forked serifs on the fascia. Some shops had the monogram 'MDC' on the finger plates of the entrance doors. Inside, there were often beautiful scenes depicted in ceramic tiles, which were made by prestigious companies, like Pilkington. 

So, I think I've exhausted what I know about the Maypole Dairy, its history, and its place in Loughborough. 

See you next week,

Lynne

You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follow:

Dyer, Lynne (2019). Maypole Dairy. Available from:  https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2019/03/maypole-dairy.html  [Accessed 3 March 2019]

Take down policy:

I post no pictures that are not my own, unless I have express permission so to do. All text is my own, and not copied from any other information sources, printed or electronic, unless identified and credited as such. If you find I have posted something in contravention of these statements, or if there are photographs of you which you would prefer not to be here, please contact me at the address listed on the About Me page, and I will remove these.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne