WEEK 42

Morphy Richards, Swinton

The presence of this company in Swinton began at the end of World War Two, on land off Talbot Road. The Birmingham Cooker Works of the General Electric Company (G.E.C.) acquired a former munitions factory and at its peak, it occupied some 24 acres, and employed 1200 people, exclusively producing electric cookers. The company was later acquired by Morphy Richards and is still in operation today.

Cliffefield Road Shops, Swinton

At the bottom of Cliffefield Road were a couple of shops which have now been converted into residential accommodation.

The shop of the left hand corner was in the 1980s and 1990s (and maybe before) a grocery shop, known as ‘Georges’ which belonged to George Alexander and his wife. Before George, the shop belonged to the Adams’ family who would close the main part of the shop at 19:00 and it would then become an off license.

The shop on the right hand corner was Ron Wharin’s butchers shop and after Ron had left, it became Cutler’s fruit and vegetable shop. After it ceased selling fruit and vegetables, it became known as Cutler’s Warehouse which was basically an unsupervised youth club.

Butterfields, Swinton

This business can be traced back to 1874 and was started by John Butterfield who was born in 1849 and set off in the wheel and wagon works trade. To supplement his income, John began making coffins etc. As a result of circumstances resulting from World War One, the business was left to John’s son, Charles Thompson Butterfield, to run. It is in this era that the business began to concentrate on Undertaking as its core business. The business is currently based on Wood Street and has connections to this site dating back to the 19th Century. The business is still family owned and is in its fifth generation.