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Wrensons

Alberta

Super Moderator
Staff member
Remember their slogan 'Wrensons Best Bacon'.My ex husband worked for Wrensons at their Erdington branch,the Six Ways one(they also had one at the Green.He was sent out every morning to see what the other grocers were charging and then they would undercut their prices by 1/2d.
He delivered orders on his bike with the basket on the front .to the 'posh' houses in Orphanage Road and Holly Lane.He wore a long white apron and I am reminded of it every time I watch 'Open all hours' He spent the rest of the day weighing sugar into blue bags,grinding coffee and slicing bacon.Every customer was known by name and enquiries were made about the health of their family,etc.Their main competition was George Mason.As you say the 'posh people'thought the co-op was for the hoi-poloi.
 
We had a Wrenson's on Hawthorn Road, run in the late 40s and early 50s by a Mr and Mrs Shepherd. The closest rival was an independent, Mr and Mrs Knight (I think), and there was a bigger rival at the Kingstanding Road end in George Mason's. For some reason, my mum always preferred to use Wrenson's rather than the cheaper Co-op branch No 101 opposite Knight's. I think it was because they hinted that they would look after us better in the days of rationing and shortages. I suspect a lot of false promises were made like that. Remember Mr Jones the butcher in "Dad's Army?"
Peter
 
I used to visit Wrensons in Yardley with my late Aunt every Friday. She would buy butter that was sold by weight and broken biscuits from large glass containers.Sugar was also sold by weight and packed in blue bags.
 
Lovely smells everytime you went into Wrensons & George Masons, I called on a lot of their shops when I was a Rep for Eskimo & Ross Frozen Foods.
 
There is a good item about Wrenson's
in Carl Chinn's book on "Brum & Brummies" #1
plus two good photo's Wrenson's had 120
shops in all
 
I remember the "broken" biscuits you could buy from George Mason's in Sheldon.

Does anyone remeber what the name was for bruised apples? You would always ask for them by this name and for the life of me I can't remember it!!!!!!!!!!

oh blast old age!!! :idiot2:
 
Have just come across my mother's old Wrenson's grocery book
.4lb sugar 2/-
1/2lb tea 1-7d
1lb Stork margerine 1-3d
packet salt 3.1/2d
2small tins tomatoes 8d
Lux toilet soap 8d
and so it goes on .Her total grocery bill
came to an average of £3-0-0
this was in the 1960/70s
 
rowan if l remember right the word your looking for is "specks" my mother always asked for a lb of specks shopping at Griffins
 
Wrensons, High St. Erdington

I stated work in Wrensons on my 15th birthday, 1954. Mr Flick was the manager, Les Tristram was the 'first hand'. My first job was to 'skin' 8 Australian cheddar cheeses.
My friend started the same time as me, but at the Sutton end of the High St. Mr Palmer was Manager. There was another Wrensons oppisite were I worked by the side of a Department Store (which I can't remember the name.
I moved afterwards to Stockland Green branch. Mr Skinner was manager, I was also delivering on the shop carrier bike and also calling with customers in their home for grocery orders
 
Fresh-ground coffee and cheese; I can still remember those smells from whenever mum went into Wrensons or George Masons. Delicious.
 
If My Memory Serves Me Correct Wrensons Was In Hall Green Along With The Co-op , Pearks , And George Masons .on Lakey Lane Or In That General Area Circa .1957 Trying To Picture The Road I Think It Was Next To Vernons Newsagents Opp The Gospel Oak Or Was That Masons ????? I Am Sure Of Pearks Since I Took My Ration Book There For Sweets And The Co-op Where I Worked When I Left School.

John
 
My Mom worked for Wrensons in '62, I think it was in the Erdington shop at first then she went on to become a driver delivering the orders to Erdington, Sutton, Four Oaks and Mere Green. Her part time errand boy was none other than Steve Winwood, who later became a member of Spencer Davis group and now a solo artist.
One of her customers at the time was Mr Doug Ellis.
I actually bought quite a few records off Steve as he wanted to buy his first guitar.
 
The Wrensons my exhusband worked in was on the corner of High St/Newman Road Erdington.
He started in 1955 and left in February 1961 as we had decided to get married and needed more money.
He went to work as a bus conductor and in his first week he earned more than 3 times as much as in the shop.
 
just came across this site.

I worked at Wrensons on the green Erdington, starting in 1951 with Mr Palmer the boss.
Finished my time at Wrensons living above and managing the shop at 241 High St Erdington, then left to come to Australia.

I also skinned cheeses, boned bacon, and delivered, and collected orders on the old bicycle
 
Derek Hudson

Iam very pleased to have this web site.

A BIG HELLO TO EVERYONE

I Worked for Wrensons from 1957 to 1968, and how I found this super site was looking for ex Wrenson people, and to try and get some old photographs of the shops.
Already I have had an e-mail from Australia,from a manager who worked in Erdington in those old days.
There is so much to do and see, it is very exciting.

ALL THE BEST.

Derek Hudson
 
welcome

Welcome Derek, I used to love shopping at Wrensons when i was a little girl. The smell of the shop was lovely, Sides of bacon hanging on a rack, watching the assistant patting butter and wrapping it, the glass topped boxes of biscuits. When my Mum did her weekly shop, we always had a tin of peaches with evaporated cream as afters on Sunday teatime. And sugar in blue bags all neatly folded at the top. Enjoy our brilliant site.
 
Hello Derek and Welcome to our site. Our local Wrensons was in Witton, and I can recall shopping there with my mother, and then for my husband and me in later years. The white coats and the bacon slicer, all long gone now.:)
 
Hi Derek,

I remember Wrensons in Lea Village (or Kitts green), I used to go in with my mom or my nan, my mom went to school with the manager and so he used to let her eat ...wait for it.... RAW sausages !! Even now God love her she still is partial to the odd raw sausage, We had a dog called Bob and he was regularly chased out of Wrensons for trying to pinch the bacon etc. Oh happy days eh!

:p:);)
 
Hi Derek,

Wrensons seems to have evoked many memories! Indeed, I grew up in Knowle where we were blessed with two! The shop on the High Street is now something far less exciting but it retains the etched 'W' in the window above the door!

As a young boy I longed for the day I was old enough to have a Saturday job riding that blue delivery bike, but when the time came I had committed myself to a life as a newspaper boy; Was this the first of the many wrong forks in the road of life I wonder?!


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I started work as an errand boy At the Erdington High Street branch Wrensons in 1948. The manager was Mr Armstrong and his assistant Jack Bagnall who later moved to become the manager of the Hawthorne Rd branch.Liptons the grocers was next door but one, and quite often I would be sent there to collect rationed biscuits when our shop ran out. The average weekly grocery bill was £1-5s-0p. I delivered grocery on my bike throughout the area the farthest being Mrs Sadler who lived at the top of Castle Bromwich hill. I delivered grocery for the next two years until horror of horrors the shop decided to deliver by van and I was promoted to shop assistant although I found that I quite enjoyed my new position which I held until I joined the Coldstream Guards in 1950. Happy days
 
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