As in the word of the famous Beatles song... 'Will you still need me, when I’m 64?'. The answer to this question is YES, we do still need the delicious homemade food products from Websters on Church Street who have been part of our town for almost 64 years.
It started at the end of August 1958 when Beryl and Geoff Webster began the Pork Butcher & Bakery business, preparing their products in rented premises at the rear of the shops in Forest Town and then selling them on the Mansfield market. Geoff’s cheerful personality and the quality of his products proved an instant success with the people of Mansfield, and in the early sixties he outgrew the premises at Forest Town and moved to the present Bakery in Derby Street, Mansfield.
The Queen Street food hall
Geoff loved the hustle and bustle of the open market but in the mid-sixties the Food Hall on Queen Street was opened and all the meat & fish market traders were moved indoors. The Food Hall proved to be a great success.
21 Church Street
In 1982, that Geoff acquired the shop at 21 Church Street, in addition to the Food Hall. At the end of 2000 the Council moved Geoff and other traders out of the Food Hall into temporary outdoor units on the market place because Food Hygiene Regulations a considerable amount of work had to be carried out on the Food Hall, unfortunately this was never done and the Food Hall was demolished several years later.
Keeping the name of Geoff Webster
Sadly, on the 8 September 2001, the family suffered a great loss when the much-loved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather Geoff passed away. Beryl took up the reigns and, with the help of her family and staff, continued to keep the memory and name of Geoff Webster in the local public domain.
It was Beryl’s intention to continue trading on Mansfield market while ever the Mansfield public wished her to do so, but unfortunately the terms and conditions offered to her by the Council during the market renovation left her with no other option than to sadly leave the market in September 2005, after 47 years.
Expanding the business
From the end of 2003 the butchers started trading in the Indoor Market, Idlewells Centre, Sutton-in-Ashfield, from unit 18, a small unit where they were only allowed to sell bakery products and, as in Mansfield, the quality of the products proved an instant success with the people of Sutton. In 2011 they were fortunate to obtain our present unit where they could also sell our meat products.
The next generation
Sadly, Mrs B Webster passed away in February 2015 and her daughter Lynn became the owner. Earlier this year Lynn handed the business over to her three daughters and son who together with her son-law, grandson and granddaughter run the family business.
The business consists of the Bakery, 71 Derby St, Mansfield (Where they make all our produce), the Shop, 21 Church St., Mansfield, and the Stall, Idlewells Market Hall, Sutton-in-Ashfield.
You can visit the stall at the Mansfield Armed Forces Day event on 3 July from 10.30am.
Sue Rogers, the Operations manager at the Mansfield BID said “This is great news for the town, having a well-established and loved business like Geoff Webster’s not only keeping the family business going but investing in its future, we wish them all the very best and hope to see them in the town for many years to come”.
