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The 2025 English Winter Fair held in Bingley Hall on the Stafford Showground saw excellent cattle, sheep and pig trade and support from far and wide. The champion in the cattle ring realised £9,000, with champion pigs to £600 per head and champion lambs to £750 per head.
It was very apparent that a range of butchers and end users, from the Midlands and further afield, who had visited the event to support and fill their fridges etc. The 100% clearance in the live pigs, live cattle and live sheep saw trade at a strong level.

Cattle Section – Auctioneer Mark Elliott
The championship went to Best Kept Secret a Limousin cross June 2024 born heifer from Bryn Ellis Lloyd of Whitchurch in Shropshire, who has attended the English Winter Fair for in excess of 50 years, led out by Corwin based auctioneer Shion Eilir Roberts. This very stylish heifer had taken trophies at Denby and Flintshire Show together with two fat stock events in the north of England and the English Winter Fair, judges tapped her out to win the day. After spirited bidding with a Somerset potential purchaser kicking her off at £4,000, she realised an excellent £9,000 to the Michael and Melanie Alford of Stillmans butcher shop and abattoir in Taunton, Somerset.
The reserve champion originated in Somerset with the Reason family, named Comer Vodka a full pedigree Limousin heifer born in April 2024, weighed in at 600kg. With potential breeders together with wholesale and retail butchers showing interest, she eventually realised £6,000 to longtime supporter of the show, Mr Anthony Kitson of Five Houses butchers shop at Yarm in the northeast. Within the natives, Herefords dominated the class to a top of £3,312 being lot three, a 720kg Hereford bullock from the Livesey family in Leicestershire, achieving a very substantial £4.60 per kilo. Generally speaking, more cattle could definitely have been sold to vendors advantage and several purchasers from local towns in Derbyshire and Staffordshire went home having not fulfilled their orders and as a consequence there was 100% clearance in the cattle ring.
Within the Limousins and Continentals, Limousin heifers topped at £5.75/kg, for lot number 98, an April 2024 born, crossbred heifer led out by the Wright family from Somerset. The champion animal equated to £14.75 per liveweight kilo with the reserve at £10/kilo.

The sale of the babies attracted keen interest and top honours in this section went to the Gratton family from Derbyshire with Tom and his brother showing a superb Limousin cross Steer, born January 2025, to realise an impressive £3,100. Other smart heifers included a Hereford bred April 2025 animal from the Harrison family in the northeast of England to a top of £2,000.
The final animal in the ring was a pedigree beef shorthorn heifer from Emma Truman and David Watkins and this impressive, March 2025 born heifer went on to realise £2,250.

Sheep Section – Auctioneer Peter Oven
A real good show of quality animals in front of Auctioneer Peter Oven with plenty of buyers round the ring. The supreme champion, a pair of Beltex trimmed butchers lambs from the Hall family of Penrith, Cumbria, went on to realise £750 per head to Chris & Sarah Wright at C&S Wholesale Meats based in Boston, Lincolnshire. Reserve champion live sheep for the 2025 event were exhibited by Messrs Garth and Priestley with these 45.5kg very well-bred lambs going on to make £560 per head to the judge Mr Mulholland.
There were 17 pairs of lambs £240 plus per head with excellent butcher support seen throughout the selling time.
The schools’ entries topped at £190 per head for 43kg Texels from Thomas Alleynes School at Uttoxeter, purchased by Lee Machin of Manifold Valley Meats.
The live weight charity donation lambs topped at £270 for a 45kg Texel from the Amor family with others up to £250 and a Southdown from N Page from Goodwood achieving £240.

Live Pig Section – Auctioneer Oliver Hiles
100% clearance in this section and trade good, with local support much appreciated.
The champions were a pair of gilts which weighed in at an average of 99.2kg and were superb in confirmation and stature. The pair were shown from long term exhibitors, the Horsley family of York, and achieved an excellent £600 per head sold to the live pig judge, Mr Lee Machin of Manifold Valley Meats, Grindon.
The reserve champion pig achieved £350 and were again exhibited by the Horsley family.
All the best gilts were regularly £200-£245 per head.

Carcass Hall – Auctioneer Meg Elliott
A very busy fridge facility saw a large crowd and purchasers crammed in for the sale of poultry, carcasses of beef, lamb and pork, together with saddles of lamb and ribs of beef.
The champion turkey, a 12.1kg bird from Jessica Rivers achieved £220 to long term supporter Mr Rolland of Matlock, with the reserve being a 16kg bird from Rob Butler achieving £170 to Nigel Brown of Ashbourne.
In the geese, first prize went to the Folder family at Bretby Geese who achieve £105 for their best bird, with others up to £80.

There was a large exhibition of ribs of beef and saddles of lamb with the champion saddle from Messrs Perrys of Eccleshall achieving £170.
Ribs of beef topped at £260 to Mr Peter Atkin for a donated entry exhibited by Perrys of Eccleshall in memory of the late Robert Cartmail of Lawnhead. All the ribs ranged from £150 to £260 per lot.
Within the beef carcasses, there was continued support from Frank Page and other old hands, with the champion carcass realizing £4,537 being £13.50/kg to Morgan Country Butchers in Telford, Shropshire.
Frank Page had a 386kg carcass sold to Gavin Ingham of Nuneaton at £3,861 being £10/kg.
Lamb carcasses very good to sell with a full rail in the fridge and the champion at £15.50/kg. For a superb lamb from Stuart Johnson and Mary Madders, grossing £347 to Lee Machin at Manifold Valley Meats.
There were numerous lamb carcasses between £9-£12/kg with continued support from Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire retail butchers, including the Browns, Swales, Parkins, Staffords and Coates.
Within the pig carcasses, the champion was exhibited by the Horsleys with an 89.5kg excellent, long carcass achieving £4.40/kg and grossing just short of £400.