Pearks Dairies Ltd. started modestly in the late Victorian era, concentrating on selling tea and butter. After 1918 expansion resulted in many new shops being opened. By 1930 Pearks had established a branch on Church Road at No.221 (at the time of writing the St Peter's Hospice Charity Shop).

Doreen Parsons who worked at Pearks, Church Road remembers: "There were windows either side of a central door. One window displayed bacon, cooked meats and cheese; the other window was for provisions, tea, sugar, tinned goods, biscuits, soap- powders etc.

We all wore double-breasted white starched overalls with black buttons on a brass ring which we fastened on the inside, the buttons were removed when the overalls were sent to Brooks cleaners to be washed and starched. We also wore starched hatbands threaded with black velvet. Later this uniform was changed to white nylon and no hatbands. These nylon overalls we had to launder ourselves. The Manager and young lads wore short white coats with a white apron for when they were doing the bacon.

At Pearks they had 'Bargain Weeks' and there would be 'Specials', for example - 1lb of our own make biscuits (assorted) for 2/-d (10p) instead of 2/6d (12 and a half pence). We had a delivery van and driver. Orders were put up and delivered locally to places such as Warmley, Wick, Doynton and Longwell Green etc. Deliveries were free of charge. We also gave credit; people were trusted to pay their bills at the end of the week.

I was a member of the shop workers Union (USDAW) and we had outings, dances and skittles matches. We had a good social life."

By the dawn of the 1960s 'Self Service' was revolutionising food shopping. In 1962 Pearks vacated No.221 and boldly opened a purpose built, self-service supermarket on the corner of Church Road and Roseberry Park. This replaced Simkiss outfitters and was open for business five years before Tesco's Church Road store.

Pearks must have been pleased with themselves, but by 1967 they were overshadowed in every sense, by their new next-door neighbour Tesco! A new name resulted; Pearks became the Maypole supermarket. Like Pearks, Maypole was also a long established dairy/grocery chain who in the 1950s had a small shop at 243, Church Road.

Shopping at both the Maypole supermarket and Tesco became a familiar experience for many Redfield shoppers in the late 1960s early 1970s. "You went into Maypole and then you went next door to Tesco".

In 1973 there was another name change, Maypole became Liptons. Again, this was a famous grocery chain that had been established in the 1870s. These name changes were not as bizarre as they seemed because Pearks, Maypole and Liptons were all part of the same retail group, Allied Suppliers. Liptons, Church Road was however a short-lived affair and it seems that by 1976 it had closed. The supermarket building was eventually divided between Olivers Shoes and the Card Market. At the time of writing the whole building is used by CM3.

This picture is a mock up of how Liptons Church Road supermarket might have looked.