Philip Chambers runs the family bench his grandfather started in 1889. The Front Street shop has been open since 1945, when his uncle Alfred came back from the war and put the Chambers name on a butcher\u2019s shopfront at number 31. The factory bakery a few doors up, run by Peter Earl, won three British Pie Awards in 2024 alone. Philip\u2019s son James Chambers is in management on the factory side, the fourth generation on the bench.
The counter, the bakery, the smokehouse, the catering side. Same bench, same family, same number 31. Pies and bacon made on site, beef and lamb cut on the morning of the day they are sold.
Pork, lamb and chicken outdoor-reared from England, Scotland and Wales. Beef from Scotland. Livestock bought through Melton Mowbray and Bakewell markets, the same way Alfred did it from 1945. Continental-style trim, fat and gristle removed, full traceability, RSPCA Assured.
Peter Earl runs the factory bakery a few doors from the shop. Pies, pastries, scotch eggs and quiches baked through the morning from the same animals on the counter next door. Three British Pie Awards in 2024 alone. Two Great Taste stars on the Charcoal Ploughman's. Hand-crimped, baked at 31 Front Street’s factory, in the trays by 11.
Salt-and-sugar dry-cure rub, no water injected, no phosphates added. Ox tongue cooked the way David Chambers cooked it. Three British Charcuterie Live golds on the shelf above the counter: cured bacon, cooked ox tongue, black pudding. The black pudding holds a Great Taste 1-star too. When you slice a rasher in a pan it browns. It does not bleed.
The factory side of the business supplies pies, sausage rolls, sausages, bacon and quiches to catering outlets, universities, schools, butchers and restaurants. Next-day delivery Tuesday to Friday. Hampers and meat boxes through the shop. Phone the shop on 0115 926 7034 for a wholesale account.
Philip built the factory bakery in the 1980s and it has been making pies on the day, every day, for over forty years. Peter Earl, the bakery manager, runs the ovens. The beef in the pie is the beef on the counter. The pork is the pork on the counter. Hot-water pastry, hand-crimped, baked through the morning, in the trays by 11.
The factory has been a few doors up Front Street for forty years. The flour goes in on Monday, the pies go out Tuesday morning, the trays are empty by Saturday lunch. Same pattern, every week.
Philip Chambers, MD, third generation
The Chambers grandfather opened the business in 1889. Alfred Chambers brought it onto the Arnold high street in 1945. David Chambers joined in the late 1960s and became one of the early Q Guild of Master Butchers. Philip Chambers stepped on in 1970, took the MD chair, and built the pie factory in the 1980s. Today his son James, the fourth generation, works in management on the factory side. Four Chambers, one bench, 137 years.
Philip Chambers’ grandfather opens the family butchery business. The trading name on the door later carries his initials: A E Chambers. A small, friendly family business from the start.
After the war, Alfred (the “AE” on the fascia) opens the retail shop on the high street of Arnold, north of Nottingham. The address stays the same for the next eighty-one years.
Alfred’s son David steps onto the bench. He becomes one of the early members of the Q Guild of Master Butchers, the trade body for the country’s best independent butchers, and stays on the books for decades.
Philip starts at the counter on Front Street, learns the bench from David, and over the next fifty-six years runs the shop into the multiple-award-winning operation it is today.
A few doors from the shop, the family builds a purpose-built factory. Pies, sausage rolls, scotch eggs and quiches are baked there on the day, every day. The factory has now been running for over forty years.
Pork Pie: Class Winner. Charcoal Ploughman’s: Reserve Champion. Bury Pork Pie: Silver. The Charcoal Ploughman’s also holds a 2-star Great Taste. Three British Charcuterie Live golds. The Butchers’ Shop of the Year trophy on the shelf.
Philip’s son James joins the management team at the factory premises. Four generations of Chambers butchers on Front Street. 137 years on the family name, 81 years at number 31.
Half-lamb, half-pig, a quarter of beef, a meat box, a pie tray for a christening, a hamper for the in-laws. Drop the details below and one of us will come back from the bench with a cut sheet and a collection time. For wholesale and catering enquiries put the word "wholesale" in the notes.
Or ring the shop directly on 0115 926 7034 Tuesday to Saturday between 08:00 and the close.
On-street parking on Cross Street and in the precinct car park, two minutes back from the pedestrianised stretch. The number 26 bus from Nottingham city centre stops on Mansfield Road, six minutes\u2019 walk.
Yes. A crown of pork, a rolled lamb shoulder, a beef rib on the bone, French-trimmed cutlets, butterflied leg of lamb. Bring the recipe and we cut it off the carcass to match. Ring 0115 926 7034 the day before if it is a bigger job or for anything weighing more than a few kilos. Otherwise walk in any opening hour Tuesday to Saturday.
Yes. Half a pig, a whole lamb, freezer packs cut and bagged to a list you bring or one we suggest. Phone the shop on 0115 926 7034 with a rough idea of freezer size and what you eat most of, and Philip or one of the team will spec the cut sheet back to you before it goes on the rail. Allow ten days for whole-animal orders so the meat hangs properly.
Most of the pork, lamb and chicken is outdoor-reared from farms in England, Scotland and Wales. The beef is from Scotland. We buy through Melton Mowbray and Bakewell markets, the same way Alfred did from 1945. Every joint on the counter is fully traceable and RSPCA Assured. The names of the farms are on a card behind the counter, ask any of us at the bench.
Yes. A few doors up Front Street from the shop is the purpose-built Chambers bakery, run by Peter Earl, where the pies, sausage rolls, scotch eggs and quiches are baked every morning. The beef in the pie is the beef on the counter. The pork is the pork on the counter. Three British Pie Awards in 2024, two Great Taste stars on the Charcoal Ploughman’s. Hand-crimped, hot-water pastry.
Because the carcasses come in on Tuesday morning. Monday is the day David, Philip and Peter prep the bench, cure the bacon, mix the dry rub, and bake ahead for the Tuesday counter. The trade ovens go on at first light Tuesday and the shop opens at eight. Closing one day a week is what lets the other five days carry pies, pastries and a full counter of cuts that were on the rail that morning.