Family businesses that have lasted

And what could be more conservative than a family business that has lasted for several centuries, in some cases from the sixteenth, seventeenth and early eighteenth. BBC 4 started a series on that very subject this evening (apologies for not notifying readers before). The programme was about Balson the Butcher in Bridport, Dorset, that has been in the same family since 1515. Further broadcasts of the programme are listed here.

Next Wednesday's programme will be about Toye the Medal Maker, in existence probably since 1685, and there will be one more on January 29 but that is not listed yet.

In the meantime, one can read an article on the subject of the oldest family businesses in the country and why they have survived here.

I shall remember this every time I walk past Berry Bros & Rudd (1698) or James Lock & Co - Hatters (1676) but especially when I buy any produce by Aspall Cyder (1728).