In late February 2026, This is Haslemere met Richard Bicknell for a coffee in The Lion’s Den to write a spotlight about the business he runs next door - Bell’s Butchers.

Bell’s is a traditional, local butcher’s and one of the longest running family businesses in Haslemere.

We began the conversation offering our condolences to Richard on hearing the news that his mother, Mary Bicknell, had passed away at the age of 93.

Richard began saying, “It’s timely and feels right to be talking about Bell’s and my mum.”  He pointed with his index finger up to the ceiling of The Lion’s Den, “You know, she was born just up there in this building, then Bell’s Stores, which was the family home.”

About Mary Bicknell neé Harman

Mary Priscilla Harman was born on 3rd May 1933. She was born to Albert and Daisy Harman. Her parents owned a butcher’s and a grocer’s store. Bell’s Butchers is still going strong and remains in the family today.

Mary attended Shottermill School and often talked of the strict teachers there. She always spoke of a happy childhood in spite of the hardships of World War 2. Richard said that a couple of years ago, he was sorting through some of his mum’s belongings and found gas masks that she had kept. Indeed, she shared stories of gas masks and air raid shelters but always conveyed the sense of community and spirit at the time. When there were celebrations in Lion Lane to mark the end of the war, Mary was sent by her mother to ask each household to make a cake for the street party. 

To Mary’s dismay, she passed her 11-plus examination and went to Godalming Grammar School. She would catch the train each morning and, if running late, her dad would put a fried egg between two slices of bread for her journey. After leaving school, Mary joined the family business, easing the pressure on her parents. She ended up being the face of Bell’s for 71 years, as the cashier & bookkeeper, taking short breaks when she had children, six of them. Regular customers will remember her in the booth taking payments and orders, speedily totting up her sums on curated scraps of paper, never making a mistake. 

When Covid hit in 2020, Mary was still working at Bell’s at the age of 87. Even then, her adding up was said to be faster than any adding machine. However, her family suggested that the threat of the virus was a worry and they encouraged her to “retire”. She missed her customers and never stopped talking shop with Richard and his sister Rosie.

The fun fair visited Haslemere every May. It was here in 1950 at the age of 17 that Mary met Paddy Bicknell, her future husband. They married on a Wednesday afternoon on the 4th August 1954. Shops closed in those days for a half day every Wednesday, so holding the wedding that afternoon meant business at Bell’s was not interrupted! Mary and Paddy moved to Moor Road in Hammer soon after the wedding and named their house “Mayfair”. This always sounded much grander than the sentimentality of being reminded of the May fair marking where they had met!

Mary had six children: Rosemary/Rosie (1956), Alan (1958), Jimmy (1959), Richard (1965), Susan (1967) and Philip (1971). “Six children over three decades”, she would always boast. After her marriage broke down, she was a single mother and she ensured that her children were well-cared for, clothed and loved. She worked tirelessly for them all. 

Remember the names of her offspring as we will come back to some of them as we now move back in time, prior to Mary’s birth, and reflect on the history of Bell’s.

A Short History of Bell’s

The original butcher’s shop was actually where Lion’s Den stands today. Richard told us his grandfather, Albert Harman, known affectionately as Gramp, moved to Haslemere after the World War 1. He used to work for Mr. Bell (hence the name, Bell’s Butchers). Gramp ended up buying the shop from Mr. Bell in 1924 and constructed the building that is now Bell’s Butchers in the 1930s. What is now The Lion’s Den remained the grocer’s, the butcher’s moved to where it is today and the family lived above the grocery.

Albert Harman was father to four children. Peter, the eldest, ran Bell’s after Gramp passed away. Iris died aged 71. Mary, as mentioned, worked at Bell’s for 71 years. And, the youngest, Jim, ran Harman’s Haulage. It was very much a family affair. Richard explained that Peter Harman would buy cattle and Jim would pick it up and bring it to Haslemere.

Bell’s had premises in Liphook, Whitehill and what is now Hair For Him on Junction Place, with the slaughterhouse (now a residential property) behind. There is another family connection here - Susan, (Richard and Rosie’s youngest sister), has owned this hairdressing business since she set it up in 1988.

Peter’s son, Robert Harman, also then worked at Bell’s. Richard starting working there on Saturdays when he was 14, making burgers and sausages as well as cleaning up. He has worked there full-time since 1981. Both Robert Harman and Richard were due to take over the business jointly. When Robert sadly died in 2016, Richard took over the reins.

Nowadays, Bell’s Butchers is a 4th-generation business. Richard’s son, Jack Bicknell, has joined the Bell’s team. Jack’s early career was as an Academy Player at Aldershot FC and he did a stint on the butcher’s counter in a supermarket before joining his dad and Aunt Rosie in the shop. Today, Jack also manages social media for Bell’s, something we think he does brilliantly. Rosie had worked at Timbers Nursery in College Hill for many years whilst doing the odd shift at the family business before taking her seat in the booth, adding up and taking orders like her mother before. You’ll see the lovely Rosie there on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Bell's Today

All their meat is local with beef, lamb, venison and pork from The South Downs. Their sausages, burgers, meatballs, black pudding and kebabs are made on the premises and Richard's youngest sibling Philip makes all their delicious pies. They also supply free-range eggs from nearby Petworth and Upper Swanmore, alongside local sauces, honey, jams, and rubs.

Bell’s is a business that requires a lot of planning. For example, they buy in beef 4 to 6 weeks in advance so it can be hung. Apparently, you do lose weight that way but this is how you get the flavour and tenderness. And we can vouch for the fact that their free-range turkeys and chickens are the most delicious we have ever eaten…. Not to mention their sausages. We did press Richard for the sausage recipe – it’s still Gramp’s original recipe that is used today – but sadly Richard was not forthcoming on the secret behind it!

Richard acknowledged his business has challenges with hikes in national insurance and utility prices and people feeling the pinch. However, he also knows that people want to know where their food comes from and they want to eat better. Richard told us, “Our meat is entirely traceable and there are no additives." And shopping locally definitely has its cost advantages. Unlike in the supermarkets, "You can come into the shop and buy just one sausage. You never have to over order."  He acknowledged that Jack’s generation are embracing the “buy better” wave. And, of course, they are thankful to their regular customers over the decades.

This is the only butcher’s in Haslemere and their produce has the highest quality and welfare standards. As we were ending our conversation, Richard, with love, pride and emotion said, “We loved our mum. And you know, her mind was pin sharp until the end. I’m going to miss talking shop with her. But what a legacy she has left…”

Follow Bell's on Social Media

Additional information is available on the Bells Butchers Facebook page and Instagram profile.

Pictured, left to right:

Elsie (worked in the grocery), Betty Furlong (worked in the grocery), Winston Stoneman (delivery driver), Pete Heward (Richard Bicknell's great uncle who worked in the butcher's), June Bicknell (worked as cashier in the Junction Place butcher's), Barry Hammond (worked in the butcher's, recently retired, not related to George Hammond), Kevin Kaighin (worked in the butcher's), Glen Mayhew (worked in the butcher's), Pete Harman (oldest son of Albert and Daisy Harman, brother of Mary and ran Bell's), George Hammond (lived in Sickle Mill Estate, worked in the butcher's, not related to Barry Hammond), Robert Harman (son of Peter Harman, sadly died young), Graham Mitchell (worked in the Junction Place butcher's), John Hickman (worked in the butcher's), Mary Bicknell (worked at Bell's Butchers for 71 years), Betty Harman (wife of Peter Harman, worked full-time in the grocery).