Our aim is that wherever you are in Lancashire you should never be more than 30 minutes from a LPPAS recommended pie shop. To help you find your nearest shop we are proud to announce our interactive Pork Pie Finder. The Pork Pie Finder lists all our recommended shops and will provide directions from your current location. Just click the link below to find your nearest shop. Happy Eating!
Updated April 16, 2018
One of the aims of the LPPAS is to celebrate the best pork pies that Lancashire has to offer. Over the coming year we aim to identify and celebrate as many pie makers as the county has to offer. We are sure that there are many pie shops around the county that we are so far unaware of and can’t wait to discover these. In the meantime though, we do have our favourites. Below is our current Pork Pie Directory listing 24 shops around the county, that in our opinion at least, sell excellent pork pies. We wholeheartedly recommend that you try these shops for yourselves and let us know if you agree. If your favourite shop isn’t included please let us know.
Town Name Post Code Website
1 Barrowford Beechs BB9 6EW http://www.beechs.co.uk
2 Blackburn Market Dales BB1 5AF http://www.dalesbutchers.co.uk
3 Bolton Fraser’s BL3 2EH http://www.frasersfoods.co.uk
4 Burnley Heys BB10 4DE http://heysfamilybutchers.co.uk
5 Bury Seddond Farm Butchers BL8 2JR https://en-gb.facebook.com/seddensfarmbutchers/
6 Chatburn Roy Porter Butchers BB7 4AW http://www.royporterbutchers.com
7 Clayton-le-Moors Hodders Butchers BB5 5PG https://en-gb.facebook.com/hodderbutchers/
8 Cleveleys Grimes Butchers FY5 1 AG https://www.facebook.com/grimesbutchers/
9 Colne Ingham & Son BB8 7PQ https://inghamsbutchers.co.uk
10 Earby Pitts BB18
11 Grange Higginsons LA11 6AB http://www.higginsonsofgrange.co.uk
12 Haslingden DT Law BB4 5BQ https://www.lancashirebutchers.com
13 Higham Roaming Roosters BB12 9ER https://www.roamingroosters.co.uk/farm-shop
14 Horwich Greeleys Winter Hey Lane https://en-gb.facebook.com/J-Greeley-High-Class-Butchers-500573603334518/
15 Poulton Le Fylde The Pork Shop FY6 7AP https://www.facebook.com/theporkshoppoulton/
16 Rawtenstall M Harrisons BB4 7QN http://www.mharrisonbutcher.co.uk
17 Nelson Nicholson’s Butchers BB9 9BQ http://www.nicholsons-butchers.co.uk
18 Norden Wildbloods OL12 7SL http://wildbloods.co.uk
19 Ramsbottom Walmsleys BL0 9AD http://walmsleysbutchers.co.uk
20 St Annes Giglis Pies FY8 1UZ http://www.giglis.co.uk
21 St Annes Kevin Barry FY8 5E http://www.quality-pies.co.uk
22 Urmston Howarths M41 5DP http://www.pjhowarthbutcher.com
23 Walshaw Trotters BL8 1 NX https://www.facebook.com/pg/TrotterButchersBury/about/
24 Warrington A Ward & Son WA4 6SG
For directions to any of these shops use our:
For our June meeting, a pair of our intrepid tasters made the journey West to G & E Hallsworth & Son of Ormskirk. We were well rewarded for their efforts. There are rumours that there is a rich seam of pork pie producing butchers in the area and if these pies are anything to go by we will be returning.
An overall score of 81 marks Hallsworth’s pie out as an outstanding newcomer. A set of 4 scores between 79 and 81 is testament to the skill, craft and consistency that goes in to producing the pies. There were many positive comments from our 24 tasters on the night. One commented as follows: ‘Excellent pie – full of meat of a smooth texture. Clear flavoursome jelly and pastry excellent and well coloured.’ Certainly a feature of the pie is just how much meat is crammed in there, with a bold convex lid rather than the disappointingly flat lid that is the mark of a less generous pie. Another taster (one of our few members that is fully converted to metric measures) made an interesting remark – ‘I think it would be an excellent pie for a picnic as it would withstand a few kilometres in a rucksack’. Excellent advice.
As always there were a few naysayers. The consistent theme amongst these was that the meat was a little on the salty side. Without this perceived imperfection from some, the pie could well have been challenging Walmsley’s at the top of our current table. Regardless, it is an excellent pie, and if you are near the Ormskirk area, Hallsworth & Sons is well worth a visit.
G & E Hallsworth & son,
149 Wigan Road
Ormskirk
L39 2AS
https://www.facebook.com/Hallsworths/
Three pies were tested in LPPAS’s May meeting. Two of these are very worthy of a review. The established top quality pies from Walmsley’s of Ramsbottom and Kevin Barry’s Quality Pies of Lytham which was new to most of our members.
Walmsley’s (86%)
31 Bridge St, Ramsbottom, Bury BL0 9AD
With an overall score of 86% Walmsley’s just pip Greeley’s beautiful pies at the top of our 2018 table. Now a firm favourite of our tasters Walmsley’s pork pies are lovingly crafted. ‘Exceeded expectations’ was a comment from a first time taster. For me, the distinctive feature of the pies is their thin, crispy and delicious pastry, echoed in this comment which summarises nicely the overall balance of the pie: ‘Excellent all round pie. Crust, crisp and dry, pork tasty, jelly tasty and just enough’. If you haven’t already tasted these pies you should make the trip to Ramsbottom to try for yourself.
Lytham Quality Pies (76%)
24 Clifton St, Lytham Saint Annes FY8 5EW
Lytham Quality Pies differs from our normal suppliers. This is predominantly a high quality pie shop rather than a butchers, although it sells a wide range of meat etc. The pork pie was well received without reaching the heights of Walmsley’s. The main factor here was the thick pastry. Most agreed with the comment that ‘The pastry is very tasty, but their is too much for my liking’. As always these things are a matter of personal taste, the jelly and the pork were rated highly by the judges – so if you are a pastry lover this pie is for you. A special mention also for their Scotch Eggs. Acting on a tip off from one of our more senior members a couple of Scotch Eggs were procured. After tasting these I’ll never buy a supermarket version again. Its good to have a balanced diet, and so if you call into Quality Pies why not try a Scotch Egg with your pork pie?
In contrast to the well known Fraser’s, the second pie sampled in April was a relative newcomer to the scene. Seddon’s Farm Butchers of Bury kindly donated a dozen pies for sampling.
The pies were very distinctive and have a good local reputation. The main difference from standard pork pies is the pastry which is deliberately softer than the more normal crispy pastry. Secondly, the jelly was runny. While this isn’t to everyone’s taste it is a personal preference of this reviewer, and for the big majority on the night the jelly scored very highly. There was less acceptance of the soft pastry. To a degree, this is no doubt due to novelty of such pastry, and there were a fair proportion of tasters that liked the pastry that way. The butcher, Mark, tells us that the pies are especially popular when still warm from the oven – and it would be good to taste them that way also.
As a newcomer Seddon’s pies faced stiff competition on the night up against Fraser’s famous pies. If you are in and around Bury it is definitely worth trying a pie from Seddon’s. If you do call in, we’d love to have your feedback.
Seddon’s Farm Butchers
74 Mile Lane
Bury
BL8 2JR
Bolton’s famed Fraser’s pork pies once again provided the highlight of the April meeting of LPPAS. It isn’t breaking news to pie aficionados when we report that Fraser’s pies are of the highest standard. The pies are beautifully crafted and provide a near perfect balance of meat and pastry with any gaps crammed full with jelly. Here are the ratings from the 25 judges on the night.
The fact that all four categories score over 80 is a testament to the skill and craft that goes in to producing the pies. Comments on the night include ‘Just a wonderful pie, jelly superb.’; ‘well balance, full of flavour. nice pie!; ‘pastry nice and crisp’. If there was one point where some tasters raised a query it was with the seasoning of the pork. Seasoning is always a question of personal preference of course but there was a proportion of tasters that would have preferred a little more seasoning. This comment summarises the issue: ‘Excellent pie, only criticism is that it needed a little more seasoning.’
If you haven’t already sampled Fraser’s pork pies we highly recommend that make the journey. You won’t be disappointed.
Fraser’s
272 Rishton Lane
Bolton
BL32EH
No sooner have the awards for 2017 been completed than the search for the best pork pie of 2018 has begun. As usual the net has been cast far and wide across the county. Five pies in total have been tested so far and from these two have stood out and lead the table for 2018:
Greeley’s (85%)
27 Winter Hey Lane, Horwich, BL6 7AD
This is our top rated pie so far. Greeley’s beautiful pies scored very highly in each category. Although it’s hard to compare with last year’s scores due to a modified scoring system the overall score of 85% sets a standard that will be hard to beat.
Greeley’s pies were sampled by a total of 25 hungry testers. The scores of 85, 84, 83 & 82% across the four categories point to a perfectly balanced score and this pie will take some beating this year. Comments for our tasters on this pie included ‘delightful pie’, ‘a perfect combination of well-seasoned pork, crispy pastry and juicy jelly’
Roaming Roosters (81%)
Barrowford Road, Higham, BB12 9ER
Roaming Roosters is located in the village of Higham, north of Burnley. These pies are the second stand out pie of the year so far. The score of 87% for the pastry is the highest category total this year. The pork achieved an excellent 85% also, the mixed scores for the jelly was the factor that just pulled the overall score down. Here the quality of the jelly wasn’t in question, but in some pies the quantity was, as the jelly failed to reach all of the gaps. Nevertheless this is an excellent pie the comment of one of our tasters provides the perfect summary ‘A very tasty pie, with well seasoned pork and crisp pastry. The jelly tasted good but not enough of it!’
Many thanks to everyone involved in making last night’s awards a great success.
Firstly thanks to the 5 top class butchers who happily donated their LPPAS Gold Rated pies:
D.T Law Butcher
Heys Family Butchers
Grimes food hall Of Cleveleys
Higginsons – Butchers & Pie Makers
Walmsleys Butchers
Secondly, thanks to to all attendees, our hosts & staff at the Black Bull, our sponsor – Cardwells Estate Agent, and everyone that took part in the raffle and auction. Collectively we raised over £600 last night for Macmillan Cancer Support, taking our total for the year above £1600!
The most frequently heard comment on the pies was that all 5 were superb. There has to be a winner though, and on the night DT Laws of Haslingden were the clear winners and become our inaugural Supreme Champion 👏👏👏
The inaugural LPPAS Awards night will be the culmination of our year-long search to find the best pork pies in Lancashire. Our 5 top-rated pie-makers of 2017 will be presented with certificates in recognition of their outstanding produce. They will also go head to head in a public tasting to determine our overall champion. Due to limited capacity, entry will be by ticket only. Tickets are £10 with all proceeds going to Macmillan Cancer Support. On the night you will be able to sample all of the pies and help us to find the champion. We guarantee that top class pies will be on offer. Musical entertainment will be provided by Andy Stones once the champion has been crowned.
Top Rated Pies 2017
Over the last 12 months LPPAS Members have sampled over 30 different pork pies from all corners of the county. The quality of these pies provides a great testament to the skill and dedication of the many top class butchers that we are lucky enough to have in Lancashire. It has been a privilege to visit these butchers, seeing at first hand the pride that they have in making the best pies possible. We have rated each pie against four criteria: Overall Quality; Pastry; Pork and Jelly. The quality was such that there is only a hair’s breadth between the top rated in each category. We have therefore listed the top 10 in each category and guarantee that once you’ve sampled any of these pies you won’t buy a mass produced supermarket pie again. We believe that they are the best pork pies not just in the county, but in the country. Here are our Top 10s:
Best Overall Pie
Many congratulations go to Grime’s of Cleveleys for what is our top rated pie. The pie itself is distinctive and reflects the character of the super enthusiastic proprietor Carl Caldwell. A very worthy winner in this category. The remainder of the Top 5 are all within just 2 points of the winner reflecting the quality that is available around the county, coming as they do from Ramsbottom, Grange, Burnley and Haslingden. A superb range of first class butchers. Read our review of Grimes here.
Best Pastry
Placed joint fourth in the overall category, Heys of Burnley take the prize for the best pastry. Located just a stone’s throw away from Turf Moor, Heys butchers was an unexpected delight. Like many top butchers it is a family firm that have been trading for over 30 years. In Danny Heys, a real pie enthusiast, they are in very safe hands.
Read our Review of Heys Butchers here.
Best Pork
The best pork category is shared by Higginson’s of Grange and best pastry winner Hey’s of Burnley. Everything about Higginson’s reflects the high quality of their produce. Higginson’s, another family business, have been established in Grange now for over thirty years and have steadily grown in reputation culminating in being voted Britain’s Best Butchers.
Read our review of Higginsons here.
Best Jelly
Our most clear-cut winner comes in the Best Jelly category. This was always our most controversial category with preferences varying between members. The jelly from Jamie Pitt’s of Earby took its place at the top of the charts at the beginning of the year and stayed there almost unchallenged until our overall top rated Grime’s came close towards the end of the year. If there was a value for money prize Pitt’s would have won that too – as at the time we sampled them they were on sale for just 90p. Read our review of Pitts of Earby here.
Special mention should also go to Walmsley’s of Ramsbottom and DT Laws of Haslingden (Review to follow) which feature in the Top 5 in a number of categories without quite topping the tables – two more outstanding pies. Finally, all of the pies featuring in the Top 10s above are excellent. We encourage everyone to support their local butchers and give them a try. To find your way to any one of these or to find the nearest to you please use our pie finder or pie directory.
The pies have now been ordered for the next meeting of the LPPAS will commence at 9:30PM on Monday 6th November at The Black Bull. This time the pies will be from Atherton and East Lancashire with promise of a third mystery pie. The last meeting saw a new leader and Monday promises to be another excellent night for pie lovers.
