Dixon’s Butchers in Addingham will close its doors for the final time at noon on Saturday, February 1, after 130 years of trading.

The original shop, ‘Dixon & West’, opened in 1884 and became J Dixon & Sons between the First and Second World Wars.

John (Jack) Dixon senior ran the shop on his own during the Second World War when John (young Jack) junior was in the Army in India.

After being demobbed young Jack returned to the shop at 127 Main Street, with food rationing in full sway, until 1954, when business returned to normal.

From 1963 to 1997 Jack and his two sons, John and Roger, ran the business together, assisted by mum Dorothy while the lads were in their teens.

Mrs Anne Dixon, who is married to John, said: “A true family firm, everyone pitched in to help. Mrs Anne Hargrave joined the business in 1988 and has stayed on well into her own retirement years, enjoying serving in the shop, exchanging banter with the customers and keeping ‘the boys’ in order. She indeed has become part of ‘the family’.

“Jack died in 1997, in his 80th year, never quite managing to retire completely. He liked to go down to the shop and ‘potter’, helping out with this and that and making sure everything was still done to his liking!”

“John and Roger have decided that the time has now come to retire. John is already, technically, a pensioner, and Roger is getting closer. Anne can now retire fully, along with ‘the boys’.”

John Dixon added: “We would like to thank all our customers for all their support over the years. We have a lot of customers that have been here as long as we have, but we are all getting older now!”

There are plans to convert the building into two flats with a small retail unit.