Where We Started… in the 1880’s
The business started off in Kirkcaldy and the Mathieson family came through to Edinburgh with a property in Clerk Street. The development of the Grange was taking place and Andrew Mathieson came to Causewayside to open a business servicing the people of the Grange and Fountainhall.
In 1902 the shop moved premised to where is now resides on Ratclife Terrace. The accounts show the costs for the property was £750. At that time there were many small independent businesses in the area.
“My grandfather Andrew and my father used to work long, long hours in those days – unreal without a shadow of a doubt. And the pair used to get the tram down to Leith on a Friday night, and collect lamb kidneys and bits and bobs and all sorts. There must have been some bartering system, maybe one butcher could sell something the other couldn’t. Then they would come back up here, working late at night. They couldn’t work as quickly as we do now. It was the pattern for many jobs at that particular time.
My grandfather Andrew bought sheep from Shetland and Orkney and kept them in fields at the Astley Ainslie. He died in 1922 and the business was carried on by his two sons. I have a photo of my father with a horse and cart coming into Marchmont Road, and it makes you wonder if the traffic today is moving any quicker than it did those days. The horse and cart were for carrying goods and so on and it was stabled in Henry MacDonald’s garage at vast expense. In those days my father used to go to the big houses in the locality, no doubt to the downstairs quarter, to collect our orders, and deliver them later on. Of course, there was little refrigeration and we used to buy in the summertime blocks of ice with which to keep the meat cool.
1922 Onwards…
In 2006 the shop moved out of family ownership for the first time.
Robert Wilson, well known livestock agent and Edinburgh businessman owned the premises until November 2019 when he sold to current owners Angus and Shadi Kirk.
Angus & Shadi own a successful Wealth Management business in Comley Bank however, for friends and family that have known Angus since his days at the Scottish Agricultural College, this purchase wasn’t a total surprise. Over the course of his long and varied career Angus has done everything from sheep shearing to sailing round the world.
The challenges faced by all businesses at the start of 2020 mean it has been an interesting time for the new owners and their team.