J.Wickens Family Butchers

Jamie Wickens was born in Uckfield and began working as a Saturday Boy with the local butcher at the tender age of 13½. Realising it was a job he was born to love, Jamie was soon working at the shop every day after school and during the holidays before serving a full, five year apprenticeship with the shop's owner, Master Butcher John Inman. With the skills acquired to become a successful butcher, Jamie moved to Winchelsea in 1987 where he set up shop in Castle Street.

Over the years he has built up strong relationships with the local farmers in and around Winchelsea, taking a keen interest in how breeding stock is reared, fed and nurtured. With a sharp eye to good animal husbandry, Jamie believes that the finest meat is produced only from animals bred to the highest standards of animal welfare.

Visiting the farms and inspecting the livestock is an essential part of Jamie's work as a butcher. Once selected, livestock is sent to a small, family run abbatoir in Broad Oak, Heathfield. The meat is then returned to Winchelsea where it is allowed to hang until it is in prime condition, ready for cutting and preparation by Jamie and his team of butchers.

Jamie Wickens has been a member of the National Federation of Meat & Food Traders since 1987 and is President of the Sussex Council of Meat Traders. Highly respected by the local farming community he is a regular judge at the County Livestock Shows. He lives at Winchelsea Beach with his wife Sally who he describes as the driving force behind the business. Both are active supporters of the local Cubs and Beavers and Jamie is a founder member of the Rye Rugby Club.