In 1786 Charles Shippam opened a grocery store at West Gate, Chichester selling butter, cheese and meat collected from the West Country.
His son George opened a grocery store in North Street, and in 1851 moved the business to 48 East Street. George also established relations with the Royal Navy so that, during the Napoleonic Wars of 1803 to 1815, the firm supplied provisions to the dockyard and ships at Portsmouth and Spithead.
Before long the company steadily increased the manufacturing side of the business, producing pastes, sandwich spreads and soups, as well as canned and jarred meats. The company prided themselves on their ability to source their ingredients, which were sometimes quite exotic, from all over the world.
Did you know?
There were sardines from Portugal, anchovies from Spain, salmon from Canada, shrimps from Holland, prawns from Scandinavia and lobster from Nova Scotia. Many ingredients would appear shocking and be frowned on as ingredients today, like turtles from Bermuda!
Shippam’s were one of the earliest preservers of meat and fish products, transporting their goods in white porcelain containers, sealed with butter. In 1882 Charles Shippam travelled to Chicago by paddle steamer to show how best to preserve meat for shipment. Their first factory in East Street, Chichester opened in 1892, and then a new factory was built along East Walls in 1913.
The Shippam’s factory contained a brand new laboratory designed to maintain strict quality control on all ingredients coming in and products which left the factory, as well as developing new and innovative techniques for quality monitoring.
Shippam’s had been packing its meats into sterilised glass jars with airtight metal caps since 1906. These airtight jars were a favourite of many local households, ideal for sandwiches for lunch or for a quick tea-time snack on toast for the kids. The iconic shape of the jars all helped establish the Shippam’s name and brand. There was also the satisfying ‘pop’ when you opened the jar that many of us still remember today!
In the 1950s almost everyone came home to ‘Shippam’s for Tea’, one of the company’s many advertising slogans. In 1955 Shippam’s launched their first television advert, winning many awards for their adverts in subsequent years.
Did you know?
Shippam’s were one of the very first companies to advertise on TV, the new ‘box in the lounge’ for many households. Their adverts appeared throughout the 1950s on television and even in cinemas!
In 1948, the company was granted the Royal Warrant of Appointment as Suppliers of Meat and Fish pastes to King George VI and again in 1955 to Queen Elizabeth II. Shippam’s was also a major local employer in the city centre, with over 600 people working at the factory by 1960. A tour of the factory was an important part of any visit to Chichester, with over 15,000 people visiting the factory each year.
Did you know?
A feature of the factory which intrigued visitors (but not vegetarians) was a great pile of 250,000 wishbones. Anyone could take away a wishbone as a good luck token.
Shippam’s was a family affair, being family owned and managed. Many staff joined the company straight out of school, and stayed for the duration of their working lives. Often one generation would follow another to work at Shippam’s, their experience and knowledge being vital to the company’s success. Company excursions were also common practice at Shippam’s from the 1920s and the families of those who worked at Shippam’s were also welcome on the outings.
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Staff morale and staff relations were extremely important, and, apart from profit-sharing, sickness benefit and pension schemes, they also offered regular medical and x-ray checks by two Harley Street doctors!
In addition the company was also a front-runner in the provision of out-of-hours facilities such as its playing field and a staff social club, built in 1927. Their football team (below) won many trophies.
In 1974 the Shippam’s family run business was bought by William Underwood, then acquired by Grand Metropolitan in 1995 and Beta Foods in 1997. Beta Foods were taken over by Princes in 2001, who closed the East Walls factory and transferred production of Shippam’s products to their new factory on Terminus Road, Chichester in 2002.
The factory was demolished in 2005, but the façade of the factory still remains today at the junction of East Walls and East Street. If you look up you can see the wishbone symbol still hanging below the distinctive Shippam’s clock.