John Thompson: When shoppers when bananas on market day

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John Thompson enjoying one of his own ales produced in the micro brewery at the back of his pub at Ingleby

John Thompson (right) poses next the sign of himself outside the pub at Ingleby with his son, Nick

WHEN John Thompson first set up his greengrocery stall in Derby’s open-air Morledge market back in 1951, there were 60 others also selling fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as numerous stalls inside the Market Hall, greengrocers on almost every street in town and at least 30 people doing home delivery rounds, selling from vans and horse-drawn carts.

“Market gardening was a huge industry in the area, employing hundreds of people,” he said. “Today, we have the odd shop, three stalls in the Eagle Centre, a few in the Market Hall, and the supermarkets. It’s very, very sad.”

As a product of a farming and market gardening family, John (78) recalls the time when Melbourne was a thriving and busy area supplying fresh fruit and vegetables, not just to Derby markets but to surrounding areas, including Nottingham, Leicester and Burton-on-Trent.

At least 80 local families had businesses there. Today, there are three.

“People talk about healthy eating today, but they don’t really know what it means. Fruit and veg was the staple diet of everyone in those days and hundreds of tons of produce was sold in Derby every week.

“No-one had canteen meals. Housewives stayed home and produced a hot meal for their families every day. Now chicken tikka is the most popular food eaten in Britain. That says it all and shows you just how much things have changed.”

John, who went on to run his own brewing business and pub, worked in the Morledge open market for 24 years. Though some customers found its open-air site by the river somewhat draughty, he says the stalls had tiled roofs which offered shelter.

“We stood there two or three days a week, in all weathers, and enjoyed it. Everyone was very friendly. We had lots of laughs and some really good times.”

He especially recalls the celebrations for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952, when the whole of Derby was decorated with flags and bunting.

“That was a time when everyone was celebrating. I hadn’t been in business long then and I remember everyone was very excited. We certainly went to a lot of trouble to make sure everything looked good.”

There were several well-known Derby families in the greengrocery business and such was the demand for their produce that some would specialise in a particular one, as well as selling general fruit and vegetables.

Said John: “For Syd Brown it was mushrooms; Oxspring and Margetts specialised in celery; Frank Woodhouse went for everything that was big. He sold the biggest vegetables and the biggest tomatoes you ever saw.

“Another trader sold luxury stuff like avocados, pineapples and artichokes. For me, it was bananas. I used to travel all over the place buying. I remember once, I sold 400 boxes in a week.”

He also bought other produce when he could clinch a good deal on the price and would take his lorry to wholesale markets all around the country.

“I would get up really early to go to Birmingham for the bananas, Evesham for kidney beans and plums, Spalding for caulis and onions and, in the season, Wisbech for strawberries. I would also sometimes buy a batch of lettuces because they were cheap, but not cucumbers or tomatoes; my policy was to pile it high and sell it cheap.”

It was a plan which paid off, for on the profits from his two or three days working the markets, he enjoyed a good and comfortable living and eventually went on to establish his own micro brewery and open his own highly successful pub, the John Thompson at Ingleby, near Swarkestone.

He chose the name because the pub occupies the farmhouse where he spent most of his life.

John was born in Stanton by Bridge where his grandfather, Arthur Thompson, was a market gardener. When he was three, his parents moved “three fields away” to Ingleby, where his father, George Thompson, ran his own market garden business from their house.

John, meantime, attended schools in Stanton and Melbourne and, after working on a local farm, joined the Navy in 1944, lying about his age. He was 17 at the time.

He served on a destroyer in Burma and Singapore and, after being demobbed in 1947, returned to work on the land.

Four years later, he started his market stall business, running it successfuly for 24 years until the open-air Morledge market closed and traders moved into the new indoor Eagle Centre market in 1975.

“I stuck it for six months and then gave up. I thought it was terrible and it wasn’t helped by us being given a bad spot on the outside where business was not good.

“A great many others felt the same way. Now, there are only three greengrocers left. I think that is really sad and says a lot about the way people live today.”

Luckily, by then, John and his wife, Ann, had taken over the farmhouse at Ingleby and, in 1969, converted it into a pub.

It soon became renowned for its beer and good, wholesome food, one year winning a prestigious, national newspaper-sponsored Best Pub in Britain award.

In 1977, John decided to open his own micro brewery at the back of the pub and, again, won several awards for its beers.

The couple have since handed the business over to their youngest son, Nick, who continues to maintain its success.

John’s two older sons, Chris and Roger, took over his greengrocery business and also, for two years, ran five pubs and bars in the Sadler Gate area – The Bell, Shakespeare, Saddlers, Vines and Seymours – taking early retirement in 2001.

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