A POPULAR Romsey sausage-making tradition is flourishing again.

Alfred Stares first produced sausages at his pork butchery in the Cornmarket in 1850.

His “banger” recipe was adjusted slightly by his grandson, Walter Stares, when he took over the business in 1919 and it then remained unchanged when his son, Tony, took over the business in 1949.

Tony was the last of the Stares family to run the butchery and he sold the business to Chris Hallis in 1991.

Chris continued making sausages using the 161-year-old recipe until October last year, when the shop closed.

Now Chris is back in business at his new butchery at Sherfield English.

Sausages have started rolling off the production line at Manor Farm Butchers and Chris believes that they will be as popular as ever.

He said: “Alfred Stares’s original sausage recipe has been retained and I’ve called it ‘Old Alfred’. It was very popular with customers at the Cornmarket shop.”

He added: “Walter tweaked Alfred’s sausage recipe and put more meat in it and his was a leaner sausage. I’ve called it ‘Walter’s Own’.” Chris said that prior to closing W. Stares shop, he was making on average 600lbs of sausages a week.

All products sold at Manor Farm Butchers will be sourced locally, said Chris, who is running his new shop with his wife, Peggy.

“I thought long and hard about whether to use Stares name here, but in the end I decided to put my own personal stamp on the business and call in Manor Farm Butchers.

Most folk know me from my connection with Stares shop,” added Chris, 55, who joined W. Stares in 1981.

“Most of the products sold here will come from within a 10-mile radius.”

After a bout of ill-health, Chis says he is now hungry for the challenge of the new business.