Award-winning family butcher just three years from celebrating 100 years open in Northampton

An award-winning family butcher is just three years away from celebrating 100 years open in Northampton.

Sauls of Spratton, now located at Smiths Farm Shop in Brampton Lane, has been a well-established part of the town for 97 years.

The business has been run by the Saul family since 1926 and originally traded from the village butchers in Spratton, before moving just a couple of miles down the road to where they currently operate.

The business’ bakehouse, where they make all their homemade goodies, remains in the village – allowing the team to offer both online ordering and free home deliveries.

Sauls of Spratton make their own sausages, pork pies, pates and potted beef, sausage rolls, cornish pasties and ready meals, following traditional family recipes using the freshest ingredients.

Their meat is sourced from a small selection of trusted wholesalers and local farms, before it is expertly butchered by the Sauls team.

Having won a number of prestigious awards, being known for selling pork rolls at Saints for more than a decade, and catering for national events with their trailers and vintage vans, the family business continues to thrive.

The three directors are currently Emma Price, her husband Mark Price and her father Chris Saul.

They are the fourth generation of family members to have taken over, and it was Emma’s grandad’s uncle that first opened the butchers almost a century ago.

Emma first got involved at around the age of 15, when she and her sister were roped into helping. More than three decades later, Emma is fully immersed into the family business.

“We’ve got a lot of long-standing customers,” said Emma. “And their parents shopped with us before they did.

“It’s lovely to see the same faces regularly and repeat custom is the best kind of endorsement.”

Having been involved for around a third of the time the business has operated, Emma was asked how things have changed.

She said: “There’s a massive difference. People’s tastes have changed and they are swinging to artisan makers and products.

“We’re constantly trying to come up with new products, changing them up and making things people will want to try.”

Emma hopes it is the quality that keeps customers coming back for more. “We’re very proud of the things we make and hope they enjoy,” she said.

When asked what she believes the business is most known for, the co-director said pork pies – particularly at Christmas as they make so many and have people visit specifically for them.

Emma is proud of everything at Sauls of Spratton – from the “lovely team” and the working environment they have created for them, to making it a nice place for customers to visit.

Emma’s husband, Mark, is in charge of the catering side of the business.

Having attended national events this year, Emma says that aspect of Sauls of Spratton has “taken off” and continued to grow over the past five to 10 years.

Though the family business is still going strong and looking ahead to their 100th birthday, Emma described the last few years as tackling “one thing after another”.

With the fallout from the pandemic and the more recent energy crisis, Emma said: “It’s the perfect storm. I can understand why so many small businesses are folding at the moment.”

Their energy bills have at least tripled and despite them finding it difficult to absorb these costs, Sauls of Spratton have not put prices up for a long time.

“We want to keep it as affordable as possible and good value for money,” said Emma.

To keep up to date with Sauls of Spratton, check out their Facebook page here.