Last year marked 175 years since the foundation of supermarket Booths.

The business began in 1847, when 19-year-old tea dealer Edwin Booth opened his first store, the China House, in Blackpool. Business boomed and Edwin expanded his range with wine and liquor.

He also increased the number of stores, and now the retailer has 27 including those in Kirkby Lonsdale, Kendal, Ulverston, Windermere, Milnthorpe and Carnforth.

Five generations of the Booth family have had a hand in the business’ development. A spokesman said: “We’re very grateful to our fantastic colleagues, customers and suppliers who make Booths what it is. Here’s to the next 175 years.”

The anniversary follows another milestone for the company in 2019, when it marked 25 years since builders started work on the site of what would become the Ulverston supermarket. Bulldozers moved onto the Canal Head site on July 18 1994. Contractors were expected to take 10 months to build the supermarket as part of a major project which was to include six craft workshops.

The Mail on July 19 noted: “The first job for workers from Cumbria County Contracting was to prepare a temporary entrance to the site from the main A590 road.”

Disruption to traffic was expected later from a 12-week project to create a new roundabout access to the store and for traffic to Next Ness.

As work began on what would be the company’s first store in Furness, company secretary and director Neil Standing said: “I’m very pleased indeed.”

By March 1995 construction was well advanced on the store despite unhelpful weather.

Company director Edwin Booth said: “The contractors, Ashall’s of Wigan, have been fabulous and I would like to pay particular tribute to the roofers, who have worked in appalling weather.”

There was a flood of applications from people keen to work there.

The Mail on April 4 noted: “More than 300 people have applied for jobs at Ulverston’s new Booths supermarket, which is threatening to compete against stores in Barrow.

“Neil Standing said he had been inundated with applications for work and the jobs had not even been advertised.

“The company has estimated that there will be 100 posts to be filled at the store, now well on course for its summer opening.

“A manager, Jeff Brookfield, former manager at the company’s Sharrow Green store at Preston, has already been appointed and Mr Standing said he had started to sort through the piles of applications.”

Completion of the Ulverston site took the number of Booths stores to 23 – including sites at Windermere, Carnforth and Kendal.

The official opening was recorded in The Mail on July 11, 1995.

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