Shrewsbury greengrocer steps back from fruit and veg stall - but the apple of his eye will still be there
A greengrocer is stepping back from his family-run market business and handing over the reins to a well-known local farmer.
Chris Maddocks, of Maddocks Fresh Produce, is leaving Shrewsbury Market Hall – marking the end of an era for the business which was founded by his parents 70 years ago.
The stall will continue under the name of Farmer Joe’s Fruit & Vegetables in the hands of new owner Joe Hamer and his wife Laura, of Arscott Farm, near Pontesbury.
Joe is a fifth-generation farmer who runs a mixed farm that is well known for its pick-your-own strawberries, pumpkins and Christmas trees, forest school and family events. His farm is also home to pedigree long-horn cattle and a three-acre market garden.
Maddocks Fresh Produce was established in the mid 1950s by Chris’s parents, market gardeners John and Myra Maddocks. They cultivated up to 40 acres of land on a smallholding in Nesscliffe and sold produce directly to the public, including in the old Victorian Shrewsbury Market Hall.
When the current market hall opened in 1965, the family moved their stall into the new building, while also supplying local shops, restaurants, supermarkets and, at one point, wholesale markets as far afield as Birmingham and Manchester.
Chris worked for the family business and took over the day-to-day management more than 20 years ago. He continued cultivating the family smallholding – growing crops as naturally as possible without the use of artificial fertilizer and pesticides.
