Historic butchers whose pork pies attract global visitors

Appleton’s Butchers was founded in the historic cathedral city in 1867 and has become particularly renowned for its traditional Yorkshire pork pies.

The business began when 19-year-old Thomas Appleton started working at Smithson’s butchers on Kirkgate.

Following Mr Smithson’s death in 1872, the shop passed to Thomas and was renamed T. Appleton and Son.

Appleton’s Butchers in Ripon (Image: TRIPADVISOR)

It later moved to its landmark black-and-white timbered building on Ripon Market Square in 1936, where the business continues to trade today.

With its distinctive frontage and windows filled with pies and other savoury produce, the shop has become a familiar sight for residents and visitors exploring the city centre.

Appleton’s describes itself as a “traditional pork butcher and pie maker, combining more than a century of history with a modern range of meats, baked goods and prepared dishes”.

At the centre of the business are its Yorkshire pork pies.

Made with carefully selected pork, flaky pastry and the traditional addition of jelly, the pies have attracted praise from customers travelling from across Britain, and even further afield.

The company says it mainly uses Large White cross pigs selected by the Piercy family of Easingwold. The Large White is widely known as the Yorkshire pig and is valued for producing high-quality pork.

Beyond its pork pies, Appleton’s sells fresh pork, beef, lamb, poultry and game, as well as sausages, bacon, gammon, cooked meats and a wide selection of savoury products.

Its current range includes steak pies, chicken, ham and leek pies, quiches, sausage rolls, Scotch eggs and traditional savoury ducks.

The business changed hands in 2010 when husband-and-wife team Anthony and Isabel Sterne took over.

It has since expanded beyond Ripon, opening in Wetherby in 2014, Boroughbridge in 2017 and Knaresborough in 2020.

Appleton’s now operates four shops across the North Yorkshire market towns, with click-and-collect also available.

However, it is the Ripon shop and its pork pies that appear to make the greatest impression on visitors.

Appleton’s has a rating of 4.7 out of five on Google at its Ripon branch, with customers repeatedly praising the pork pies, sausage rolls, Scotch eggs and friendly service.

One reviewer asked whether they were the best pork pies in Yorkshire before concluding they were “definitely up there”.

Another customer went further, declaring them the “best pork pies in England”.

The reviewer said they travelled from Australia to visit Ripon and made sure to buy several pies whenever they returned.

Another visitor bought a pork pie to take home for their mother and described it as “utterly perfect”.

For some visitors, buying a pie and eating it in the Market Square has become part of the experience.

One customer said they purchased two small pork pies and ate them on a seat beneath Ripon’s obelisk during a sunny visit.

They were so impressed that they immediately returned to the shop and bought two more.

The shop has also been described as the “crown jewel of Ripon marketplace”, while several reviewers have praised the pork pies’ light, crisp pastry.