History of Butchery

History of Butchery

How much do you know about the history of the meat industry?

Pre-historic butchery

• The earliest butchers animal to be found is a giant sloth. It was found by scientists from the University of Miami and archaeologists in a Florida sinkhole and is estimated to be about 12,000 years old. Butchery in the Ancient world was found in Ancient Rome with images of how the Romans carved and dressed meats before selling it on.

British Butchery begins

The oldest recorded history of butchery was in London in 975AD, when butchers would meet regularly at different Butchers Halls in the city. In the 14th Century, the Worshipful Company of Butchers was founded and is one of the oldest Guilds in the country.

In the 11th Century AD

The Shambles, the oldest street in York - which is mentioned in The Domesday Book of William the Conqueror - was the location of the meat market in York and the center of the butching profession. "Shambles" means: "Butchers stalls, a Meat-Market". 

1272 AD: Butchers Guilds are born

The first reference to a Guild structure in York appears in the Freemen's Rolls of 1272. The Butchers' Gild controlled matters of hygiene, weights and measures, meat restricted days and fast periods, and over 'foreign' (non-guild) butchers. The Gild Searchers operated as overseers for the good of the trade with powers to search shops and stalls, the imposition of fines and the application of correction and punishment.

Mid-14th Century AD: The Black Death strikes

In the Mediterranean world, there was a rise in the political importance of the butcher due to a receding of cereal crops, mostly owing to the effects of the Black Death.

In 1556 Apprenticeships began

Standards of workmanship were protected through the apprenticeship system. In London the authorities decided that: "Until a man grows unto the age of 24 he has not grown into the full knowledge of the art that he professeth." Apprenticeships lasted 7 years and the apprentice could not be considered a professional until it is completed.

In 1835 the Municipal Corporations Act appears

The 1835 Municipal Corporations Act (sometimes referred to as the Municipal Reform Act) finally abolished all guild trade privileges. Most guilds did not survive as a result. The Butchers' Gild struggled on into the 20th century, with just a single member by 1940.

In the late 1800s: American meat revolution

The development of direct-expansion ammonia refrigeration and the development of electricity allowed the meat processing industry to become a year-round business and not one controlled primarily by atmospheric temperature.

Then in the early 1900s...

Mechanical refrigeration increased the efficiency of both pork and beef operations. Moreover, Chicago packers were preserving meat in tin cans, manufacturing an inexpensive butter substitute called oleomargarine, and, with the help of chemists, turning previously discarded parts of the animals into glue, fertilizer, glycerin, ammonia, and gelatin.

1920s: Meat inspections

U.S. Government inspectors began grading beef and pork.

1940: The Butcher's Gild is reborn

Mr. F. Wright, butcher of Goodramgate, York, and Mr. C. N. B. Crombie, solicitor of York, persuaded the last remaining member of The Butcher's Gild to swear in new members. As a result, the present Gild is able to claim continuous membership from its medieval roots. The first Court of the modern Butchers' Gild was held in 1940 at the Hermitage, Stockton on the Forest.

In 2002, the Gild finally approves female members

During the late 1990's, the Butchers' Gild debated and accepted the notion of the entry of Lady Members. (History indicates that this was always acceptable and was particularly applied when a widow continued the running of a business after the loss of her husband). The first three ladies in the modern era were admitted to the Company on Shrove Tuesday, 2002.

In 2009, small independent butchers are on the rise

Quality meat from small producers has started to make a comeback. These farmers do not send their animals to the large processors that dominate the meat industry, creating a demand for butchers. The rise of locally raised meat, and the popularity of so-called off-cuts is causing a rise in the butcher shop.

And in 2011..

The Butcher's Guild formed and began accepting professional members.

For more information, visit:

Meat-Story (an incomplete chronicle of butchery) — The Butchers Guild

Multiple Choice

Question 1: When were meat apprenticeships first formed?

• 1910

• 1850

• 1556

• 1655

Multiple Choice

Question 2: What is the name of the first ever guild?

• Butchers Guild

• Butchers Gild

• Guild of Associated Butchers

• The Worshipful Company of Butchers

Multiple Choice

Question 3: What is a meat-market traditionally known as?

• A travesty

• A shambles

• A trainwreck

• A disaster

Multiple Choice

Question 4: What caused the reversal of crop-land to pasture in the Mediterranean world?

• Tuberculosis

• Smallpox

• The Black Death

• Spanish flu

Multiple Choice

Question 5: Which Act was the death knell for most butchers guilds in 1835?

• Agriculture Act

• Food Safety Act

• Health and Safety at Work Act (HASAWA)

• Municipal Reform Act