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Wrensons

Hi Steve, if it is an original Wrensons delivery bike with the framework at the front for a delivery basket, over a small wheel, it's a "Pashley Carrier" bike, made in Chester Street, Aston. And like Henry Ford said of his early cars, "You can have any colour you like, as long as it's Black!" but I believe they did do Red ones for the Post Office. Don Clive
 
Hi,I have only just logged onto this forum. I note that Alberta said that Wrensons had a slogan "Wrensons Best Bacon." The actual slogan was "Birminghams Better Bacon".
I worked for Wrensons from 1958 to 1960 and again from 1962 to 1965.One of my employers had a slogan "Birminghams Best Bacon". I rode the delivery bikes.There were two types, one with a shallow basket on the front suitable for one delivery,and no bicycle stand. The other was a large front basket which could take four deliveries.There was a large kick stand on the front to enable to bike to stay upright when parked. The bikes were painted black with blue and cream Wrensons plate under the crossbar,and a letter W painted on the front basket. Anyone remember Mr and Mrs Austin who managed Yew Tree Yardley branch through the 1950's and 1960's. Regards Ian Leggett.
 
 
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I remember Wrensons on Weoley Castle Square. Im 68 years old now & reading your post made me remember my childhood I used to go to Wrensons with basket for my Mom when I was 9/10 years old. I do remember friendly people working in the shop I also delivered for them on Saturdays & some school holiday days
 
where was wrensons on the square rooster??, I remember john favours, where I used to shop for my mom, and I worked saturdays at wrensons northfield but cannot remember the weoley castle one!
paul
 
According to the 1956 Kellys , Wrensons was at 156 Weoley Castle road, between Wimbush's and Jones the newsagent
Mike
 
Hi Paul Wrensons on Weoley Castle road next to Wimbush the cake shop,opposite post office
 
paul stacey said:
where was wrensons on the square rooster??, I remember john favours, where I used to shop for my mom, and I worked saturdays at wrensons northfield but cannot remember the weoley castle one!
paul
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Hello Paul do you remember John Favours in Harborne,my mom used to shop in there,Years before when i lived in Ballsall Heath,Wrensons was in Gooch Street and known locally as the red shop.
 
There seem to be loads of memories about Wrensons.With 120 shops you did not have to go far to see one (or two). I started work at the Yew Tree branch, then managed Stechford and Arden Oak Branches. Things were so casual then,like taking the cash bankings in the front of the carrier bike to the bank about a mile away. No security then.
Thanks to jennyann for her link to Carrier Bikes website,very interesting. I delivered groceries using the bike and longer distances were done in a Trojan Van (like the famous Brooke Bond Tea ones) and later in a Bedford CA van. They were luxurious in comparison and I loved the chance to be van boy showing new drivers the way around.Most drivers were actually firemen on shift work and took driving jobs to earn extra cash. Does Derek Hudson log in now(he did make a comment back in 2008). If he is the same one I knew , he managed the Radleys Branch, had an Isetta Bubble Car and we would take the shop cash to the bank in it.We bought a 1927 Austin 7 between us and tried to get it going, but that is another story.Where are you Derek? Regards Ian.
ps.I note that Wimbushes are mentioned regularly. We had one next door in Arden Oak Road. We did not sell bread in those days and when the opportunity came to sell it I had a visit from the Wimbush manageress who stated that if we started selling bread she would start selling groceries. Try doing that today.
 
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thanks rooster I lived in weoley castle from 58 to 64 I cannot remember wrensons at all so may be it had gone by then,
hi Liz, lovely to hear from you seems ages since we spoke (so to speak) hope you and yours well, no I cannot remember favours in harborne, but oddly enough I do remember wrensons in gooch st, when a small child we lived in edgbaston just off the pershore road and mom would do her shopping in balsall heath and we used to go into wrensons I remember that there was a chair where you could sit while they weighed out your butter and cheese and it had dark wooden floors.
kindest regards paul.
 
Here is a cutting from 1972 concerning what happened after Wrensons were taken over
Mike

sale_of_wrensons_shops.jpg
 
Yes.....Those smells were something special.......also the sides of bacon wrapped in the cheesecloth....
Biscuits were sold from a large selection of tins.....no need for the unesscessary packaging....
Mum shopped at George Masons in Great Barr..before Tesco,s came along.....
 
Ditto.......I was a rep for Birdseye in Melbourne for 16 years......Then owned by Petersville (Aust)/Unilever U K...
B/eye Cod in Batter was a top seller in the early days.
 
Do not forget the coffee grinding machines which sent the lovely fresh coffee smell through the shop. In todays supermarkets they use an artificial scent to make you think of vfresh coffee, back then it was the real thing. I have see mention of George Masons who wre taken over by International Stores, and thank you to Mike who posted the Wrensons news item about some of the branches for sale ( I remember the closing of the Swan Yardley branch when items were being sold at ridiculously low prices by the Greens in a type of auction), but what happened to Moyle and Adams? I remember Home and Colonial,Pearks and Liptons which all became Liptons and then were merged into Safeway.
Regards Ian.
 
Does anyone remember 'Home and Colonial' on Summer Hill? It had all the lovely smell's just like Wrenson, and Lipton's.
 
Which grocery group/chain had Green shield stamps? .....Mum collected them..i do remember sticking them in the booklets!
Thanks to anyone who can help!
 
davpen said:
Which grocery group/chain had Green shield stamps? .....Mum collected them..i do remember sticking them in the booklets!
Thanks to anyone who can help!
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Tescos i think, i used to stick them in the books too,and petrol stations gave them
 
Another firm, i think it might have been Fine Fare, gave Pink stamps (I think they were S & H pink stamps, whatever that stood for)
Mike
 
Hello Mike i just read about them on that link above,but i don't remember them,but i do remember stamps on packets of tea and i think it may have been Brooke Bond.
 
I think it was Tesco who did Green Shield stamps.There were also Pink stamps with Fine Fare and Coopers (They had a supermarket in the new 1960's Bull Ring) and Pricerite were heavily into those. I used to collect these stamps in big quantities from petrol stations as double/ treble and quadruple offers were abundant, and trade them in for items at the Green Shield shops.(They were the start of Argos)
Regards Ian.
 
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Yes it was Brooke Bond Dividend tea. A full card was worth 5 shillings, so 60 stamps at 1d each meant buying 60 packets of loose tea.
Regards Ian.
 
Yes i tink they probably all started in the US,Mr Cohen adopted the Greenshield ones for Tesco,and the shops where you exchanged them were called Greensheild,I had lots of them when i was engaged and people i knew started giving them to me,which bought us lots of little things to set up home,many of which i still have
 
Then of course the Co-op started blue stamps which replaced the cash yearly Dividend scheme in many areas.
Regards Ian
 
And now the Coop have a dividend card,progress, at least we don't have to lick all them stamps
 
Ian, I worked in a hardware shop, twq doors away from a 'Pearks' establishment that was staffed by all women, this was before the days of walk in freezers, when the muslin wrapped side of bacon were delivered the delivery man carried them to an upstairs storeroom folded in half, invariably they called on me when they wanted one carried down, I had to carry it first into the kitchen and scrape all the maggots out of the 'bend', the ladies wouldn't tackle that job either. Don Clive
 
My ex was a rep when we married in the 60s, and got loads of Green Shield stamps with his petrol. We, too, got lots of household goods (many of which I still have!).
Cigarette coupons also contributed to our household goods! Who remembers No. 6 coupons?
 
Seabird said:
My ex was a rep when we married in the 60s, and got loads of Green Shield stamps with his petrol. We, too, got lots of household goods (many of which I still have!).
Cigarette coupons also contributed to our household goods! Who remembers No. 6 coupons?
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Oh yes i remember them and Embassy,gosh i had forgotten about them
 
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