Pig out this Christmas

Thursday 18th December, 2025

Have you bought your Christmas joint yet? If not, don't panic – simply head to Primrose Herd on Newham’s Lighterage Hill. The butchery goes into overdrive in the run-up to Christmas; its once-a-month pop-up shop switches to daily opening from December 16 to 22 from 9am to 3pm (Sunday 9am to 1pm), with collection only on Tuesday December 23 from 9am to noon. Order ahead by calling 01209 821408.

You’ll be sure of an award-winning centerpiece: Primrose Herd picked up four trophies at last month’s Agrifest in Exeter, including gold for beef burgers and pork and apple burgers, silver for cracked black pepper sausages and bronze for chorizo.

At the heart of the business is an award-winning farm near Redruth, where Bill and Sally Lugg have reared the Primrose herd of rare and native breed pigs since 1999, with plenty of space and freedom to roam in the great outdoors.

As the business expanded, the Luggs moved their butchery off the farm to new modern facilities in Newham. There, you can find not only classic porcine products including ham joints, pork chops and festive pigs in blankets; but also other quality West Country meats sourced from fellow farmers and smallholders who share the Primrose values of natural, slow growth – such as beef from James Kittow and turkeys from Banbury’s of Padstow. Butchery manager Jake Gregory bought the champion lambs at Truro Primestock Show on Wednesday, on December 3.

As well as local sales, products are shipped nationwide, including traditional Cornish hog’s pudding to a Cousin Jack near John O’Groats.

Small wonder Sally is anticipating a busy December. “Retail and online sales are 50 per cent up on last year, which was a record in itself,” she says, proudly. “Then there are wholesale customers like restaurants and hotels, who also want more.

“It gets busier closer to Christmas – everyone wants the latest possible delivery, so we’re at the mercy of the courier and the weather. But it’s a good end to the year for us, and it makes up for January and February, which are always quiet while everyone works off the festive excess.”

The Luggs’ Christmas will be spent entertaining their three adult children, partners and two grandchildren. What’s on the table? “It’s our first Christmas in a new home, so I’ll be christening the kitchen with a rib of beef,” Sally reveals. “I'll do my best to organise it early – a home Christmas is often low on a butcher’s list of priorities.”