Bramfield Meats

With the history of some of our family businesses going back to the early 1900s, it is not surprising that the Thickitt name and our reputation as trusted butchers is very dear to our hearts. We like to think that we go the extra mile and nothing is too much trouble, appreciated by our loyal customers, some of whom have been supplied by us for over three decades since the Thickitts first bought the butchery at Peasenhall. In 1967, Jeremy and the family expanded the butchery enterprises and bought the local abattoir on the edge of the village of Bramfield. As well as relocating Clarke’s to its own dedicated farm shop and butchery, they quickly also established their wholesale Bramfield Meats business on the four acre site.  We are delighted that we still employ dozens of local staff, some living in the village and related to earlier generations of Clarke’s employees over the years.

Our Family
The Thickitt family links to the Bramfield butchery enterprises were started by Jeremy Thickitt and his brother, Michael (now retired) in the early Eighties but K W Clarke of Bramfield first opened its doors as a butcher’s shop in the early 1900s, complete with its own slaughterhouse in the village. Hard work as young apprentices and years of craft training turned these two eager Suffolk born-and-raised siblings into master butchers. They are now joined in business at Bramfield by Jeremy’s son Richard and daughter Charlotte, the next generation of Thickitts. Jeremy’s wife, Wendy is fully involved with the family businesses, focussing on running Emmerdale Farm Shop at Darsham.

Charlie Mills R.I.P – Jeremy’s right-hand man of 28 years, Charlie, Wholesale Manager at Bramfield Meats, sadly passed away in 2018. He is a much-missed friend and colleague to the Thickitt family and the whole Bramfield team here. Richard Thickitt stepped up into Charlie’s role running the main Bramfield Meats operations.

Our Bramfield Meats Team
With over 50 dedicated staff based at their Low Road butchery, Bramfield Meats’ success is very much down to the hard work and support of the loyal team, many of whom have worked with the family for decades.

Farm
Not just experienced butchers, farmer-grazier Jeremy and his wife Wendy also own Marsh View Farm at Darsham, home to their Emmerdale Farm Shop and the happy herd of heritage cattle, including iconic Suffolk Red Polls. It is a complete field-to-fork story as their arable fields produce the feed and bedding, and with its own fine butchery counter on the farm, we’re talking food yards, not food miles!

Other Businesses
Well-known in the East Anglian farming and butchery world, Jeremy was for many years a Steward of The Suffolk Show, helping to manage the cattle breed classes. He and the family own several other farm shops and high street butchers including Clarke’s of Bramfield and Farmers Butchery based here in Low Road next to Bramfield Meats, as well as Emmerdale Farm Shop at their home, Marsh View Farm in Darsham.

All the Thickitt shops and businesses are run very personally by local managers and trusted teams of loyal staff, who share Jeremy’s approach to looking after their customers and doing things the old-fashioned caring way.