A butcher’s shop that has been in the same family for almost a century has changed hands, marking the end of an era for meat supply on the Lizard Peninsula.

The name Retallack has been synonymous with St Keverne since Tom Retallack first started selling meat from his pony and trap in the 1920s, after leaving the navy at the end of World War One.

The business was passed to his son John and subsequently his grandson Paul, who has been running J Retallack & Son until the start of the month.

In that time it moved from being a mobile butchers to its own premises just up from the village square, where it remains today.

Paul said selling the family business was a “very hard and long decision” to come to, but with his children happy in their own careers and not interested in taking it on, he felt the time was right, while it still had a strong reputation in the area for quality.

He told the Helston Packet: “I decided as no one wanted to follow on, it was time to pass it to somebody that could keep it going.”

That someone is Stephen Vincent and his wife Demelza.

The name Retallack has strong links to them also, in more ways than one. Stephen first trained as a butcher with Colin Retallack, who owns a shop at The Lizard, working there for 18 years before moving to the St Keverne branch of Retallack's, working alongside Paul for the last five years. The two Retallack families are very distant cousins from many generations back, but unconnected these days.

Paul said of Stephen and Demelza: “I would like to wish them all the best and hope the community gets behind them and supports them, as they have us over the years. Stephen has worked here for five years so knows all the customers and what they like.

“We would like to thank all our customers and friends that have supported us. We’ve had a good relationship with people and hope to still see them around.”

Paul and his wife Denise plan to continue living in the village and will take a break until Christmas, before deciding what to do next.

Stephen said he and Demelza were delighted to be taking on the business and while they planned to put their own stamp on it once settled in – including altering the name to Vincent Butchers – there were no big plans to change anything.

“Paul said he was going to retire and he offered it to us, and it was too good an opportunity to pass up. It’s a very good business and you don’t need to change things if it’s not broken,” he added.