Town's oldest retailer up for sale as fifth-generation owner plans retirement

The site which houses the oldest surviving retailer in a Merseyside town is up for sale after being open for over a century. Located on Westfield Street in St Helens town centre, Burchall's butcher's shop and its homemade pies have become synonymous with the town, boasting a fascinating legacy spanning back to the 19th century.

Owner John Burchall, 75, represents the fifth generation of Burchall custodians, with his great, great grandparents opening the first Burchall's butcher's shop in Church Street in the 1840s. Now in its 103rd year at its current location, John has decided to throw in the towel and retire, listing the building for sale.

The famed butcher’s premises on Westfield Street has been listed on Rightmove, with an asking price of £225,000. John, who took over the family business from his father in 1995, told the ECHO: "I put it on the market last week. I’m retiring; I’m 75 now and I’ve done 50-odd years. As someone said to me before: ‘Don’t you think you deserve some ‘you time’?’

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"I haven’t planned to keep the business running but if anybody takes an interest in the business then I would take that into consideration. But I’m more interested in off-loading the property."

He added: "It wasn’t an easy decision to retire. I had a health scare a couple of years ago but I didn’t want to retire then and let it beat me.

"Then it hit me last week when my wife got knocked down - not seriously hurt - I had to pull her away but she was badly bruised. It really came home to me that it could have been a lot worse if I wasn’t with her and that’s when I decided to pack it in."

John says he has been told there "is interest" in the property and one person has already taken a look at it. John joined the family business at the age of 27 and when he took over from his dad decided to put his "own stamp" on Burchall's pork pies.

Employing 11 members of staff, preparation time for the pies take 24 hours, with pastry being handmade and meat prepared on site. John said the team can sell anything from 500 to 700 pies a week to loyal customers.