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Out of the frying pan, into the...heritage - Margaret Hodge ‘lists’ two art deco south London sausage shops

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21 May 2008

Two sausage shops in South London were today listed as Grade II buildings, by Culture Minister Margaret Hodge.

The shops, each retaining many original 1920s art-deco features such as tiling, ‘sunburst’ lights and engraved glass features are time capsules of suburban shopping from nearly a century ago.

The listed shops, in Camberwell and South Norwood, belonged to the Kennedys chain of sausage sellers, who owned a number of shops in South London for nearly 140 years.  The shops being listed, dating from 1923 and 1926 respectively are two of the earliest branches of the chain to survive.   

Kennedys – along with Boots, WH Smith and Woolworths - was one of the first multiple-branch shops to develop the idea of ‘brand identity’, with the same materials and decoration used in each building. 

Announcing their listing today, Margaret Hodge said:

“I grew up in South London.  In those days going shopping was a rich and varied experience, with hundreds of individual shop-keepers and scores of small chains, each offering a distinctive choice and a varied experience.  It’s fantastic to be able to preserve a little bit of that history, and brilliant to find shops dating from the Victorian or early 20th century which have not been changed beyond recognition by refurbishments.  

“The great British banger has been a staple of our diet for centuries.  It is right that these wonderfully preserved sausage shops should get the additional protection – an extra skin, if you like – that listing provides.”   

The two shops listed today are largely unchanged since their opening, with both shops sporting polished glass signs, granite stallrisers and Art-Deco sunburst transom lights.  Inside, they both retain their original green and yellow tiled walls with marble-topped counters, wooden cabinets and mirrored panels. 

Notes to editors

  1. Both shops have been listed at Grade II.  Although a number of the shops were originally nominated for listing, these two branches were the only ones of the chain that retained enough original features to warrant being listed.
  2. Kennedys began trading in the 1870s from their shop in Peckham, although nothing remains of those premises today.  As well as trading in ham and beef, they also ran a fishmonger.  The chain of shops expanded over the next 28 years and passed on to Alexander Kennedy in 1923, the next generation of the family.  The last shop in the chain was opened in West Wickham in 1962.  The firm went out of business in December 2007 and all shops are currently either sold, for sale or in the process of being refurbished.
  3. The main purpose of listing a building is to ensure that care will be taken over decisions affecting its future, that any alterations respect the particular character and interest of the building, and that the case for its preservation is taken fully into account in considering the merits of any redevelopment proposals.
  4. Further details of English Heritage's recommendations can be obtained from Historic Environment Designation Branch, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2-4 Cockspur Street, London SW1Y 5DH.

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