The House of Morrell; with a foreword by William ... - University Library

on the Bradford market. Particularly he noticed a barge load of
oranges. All through the day, as he worked at his trade as a woolcomber,
he thought of that boat load of oranges and wondered if
that might not be the best method for expending the small sum remaining
from the bequest.
That night, on his return home, he talked the matter over with
his wife and it was decided to expend the money for the oranges.
The next day George didn't go to his job in the mill; instead he
stopped at the canal and bargained for and finally purchased the
oranges. Father and sons sold the oranges on the streets of Bradford.
A profit having been made in this first transaction, the money was
reinvested in fruit and green groceries. This furnished stock for a
stall in the Bradford Public Market. George Morrell indicated business
foresight in the selection of this first stall;
it was at the foot of
a flight of stairs leading from the upper market to the lower. These
stairs were traversed by many people in the course of a day. George
Morrell was now a thriving fruit merchant and what is now John
Morrell & Co. had come into existence.
About 1830 Morrell decided to add provisions to his line of fruits
and green groceries. Another stall,
immediately opposite the original
one, was rented and was devoted to the retail sale of hams, bacon,
cheese, butter and eggs. George Morrell managed this market and
his wife took over supervision of the first one. The curing of hams
and bacon soon became the most important part of the business and
Morreli's York Hams acquired an enviable reputation in
a reputation that soon spread even to the continent.
England,
Business came easily to the firm with the addition of cured hams
and bacon; further expansion was made necessary. Additional stalls
in the market were rented from time to time. Finally, it was necessary
that a building be leased to conduct the business. This building
was on Market Street near the George Hotel. At this same time a
partnership was formed under the name of George Morrell and
Sons. While at the Market Street location the nature of the business
changed again with the dropping of green groceries and the addition
of flour and other articles. As far as the records show there is no