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Snugburys

Coordinates: 53°5′14.6″N 2°33′55.0″W / 53.087389°N 2.565278°W / 53.087389; -2.565278
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Snugburys
Coordinates53°5′14.6″N 2°33′55.0″W / 53.087389°N 2.565278°W / 53.087389; -2.565278
Websitewww.snugburys.co.uk

Snugburys is an English ice cream manufacturer based at Park Farm in Hurleston, near Nantwich, in the county of Cheshire. Snugburys makes over 35 flavours of ice cream. In addition to ice cream production, Snugburys also regularly produces large sculptures made of steel-reinforced straw.

Location

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Snugburys operates out of a Cheshire farm (with associated farm shop)[1] called Park Farm[2] or Snugbury's Ice Cream Farm.[3] It is located on Chester Road[4] in Hurleston near Nantwich in the United Kingdom,[3] near to the Llangollen Canal.[5] In February 2019 Snugburys opened their second location in Chester, called Snugburys on the River.

History

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The ice cream shop at Snugburys
Ice cream van at Dunham Massey in 2024
Outlet at Dunham Massey in 2024

The business was founded in 1986.[1] It was converted from a dairy farm to an ice cream factory by Chris and Cheryl Sadler.[6] It opened a new ice cream shop in the barn on the site in 2011,[5] and has three ice cream vans.[7] They opened an ice cream parlour in the Lakeside Cafe at Trentham Estate in 2016.[8] Snugburys produces around 35 flavours of ice cream,[9] which have included flavours like damson and sloe gin and toffee crumble.[10][11]

The business was taken over by the Sadlers' daughters Hannah, Kitty, and Cleo when their parents retired in 2016;[6] the sisters became directors of the company in November 2015.

In 2020, Snugburys launched their drive thru at their Nantwich site in response to the Covid pandemic.

Straw sculptures

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Snugburys has been making straw sculptures since 1998, when its first straw sculpture portrayed the Millennium Dome.[12][13] The sculptures are reinforced with steel, and are constructed to attract visitors to the farm and to raise money for charity.[2] In 2015 the Guinness Book of Records included mention of Snugbury's straw Dalek as the "Largest Dalek sculpture".[14] The sculptures are created by Mike Harper of Harbrook Engineering.[15]

List of sculptures

[edit]
Photo Year Subject Notes
1998 Millennium Dome[12] Nicknamed "Millennium Cone"[13]
2002 Commonwealth Games[16] Nicknamed "Cone-Wealth Games 2002".[16]
2003 Dinosaur[16] Nicknamed "Coneastrawus". Idea by Liz Considine, made by Mike Harper.[16]
2004 Angel of the North[16] Nicknamed "Angel from the North West". Donations supported Hope House Childrens Hospice.[16]
2005 Millennium Wheel[16] Made of steel and straw.[16]
2006 Sputnik[16] Nicknamed "The Snugnik Rocket".[16]
2007 Lovell Telescope[16] Nicknamed "Dish of the Day". Subject was decided by a competition, and celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Lovell Telescope and the space age. Weighed 6 tonnes, with a 32 feet (9.8 m) diameter dish. Donations went to Kids Company.[16]
2008 Windmill[16]
2009 Big Ben[16] Celebrated the 150th anniversary of the clock tower. Featured a working, illuminated clock.[16]
2010 Meerkat[16] 36 feet (11 m) tall,[16] built on a 6 feet (1.8 m) base. Had illuminated eyes.[17] £2,880[15] of donations went to Railway Children (charity).[16]
2011 Polar bear[16] 38 feet (12 m) tall, 9 tonnes (3 tonnes of straw). Donations went to The Children's Adventure Farm Trust.[16]
2012 Olympic cyclist[16] Representing British cycling Olympians. 35 feet (11 m) tall (the bike was 8 feet (2.4 m) tall), weighing 7 tonnes. Took 17 man-weeks to construct. The curve represented the Manchester Velodrome. Donations went to the cyclists and chosen charities.[16]
2013 Dalek[16] Nicknamed "Dalick". Marking the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who.[16] 35 feet (11 m) tall made of 6 tonnes of straw, 5 tonnes of steel, and 700 man-hours.[16] £3,000 of donations[15] went to Cancer Research UK,[16] as the father of one of the company's staff was being treated for cancer.[18] The head and plunger of the sculpture moved,[19] and it played back "Exterminate!"[20] Mentioned in the 2015 Guinness Book of Records.[14]
2015 Cowboy on horse[16] 20 feet (6.1 m) tall. Made of weathering steel with copper.[16] Donations went to Riding for the Disabled.[2]
2016 Peter Rabbit[16] 38 feet (12 m) tall, 8 tonnes (8,000 kg). Accompanied by a 10 feet (3.0 m) carrot, 10 foot ears, and giant plastic blue jacket. Took 1,000 man-hours to create.[2][16] It was created to celebrate the 150th birthday of Beatrix Potter, and donations went to The Children's Adventure Farm Trust. It was destroyed by fire at 5.30pm on 2 February 2017 in a suspected arson attack,[3][21] and a fundraising campaign to rebuild it was subsequently launched.[4] It was rebuilt in 2017, and stood at the site until 2019.[15]
2019 Bumblebee[22] 40 feet (12 m) high, made of straw and black-dyed wood, donations go to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.[22]
2024 Paddington Bear[23] 50 feet (15 m) high. Metal, willow, straw, supporting the MPS Society.[23]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Snugburys - The Home of Ice Cream". Snugburys. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "Snugbury's near Nantwich unveils Peter Rabbit straw sculpture". Stoke Sentinel. 9 August 2016. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Firefighters investigate cause of blaze which destroyed Snugburys' Peter Rabbit straw sculpture". Crewe Chronicle. 3 February 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Could 38ft Peter Rabbit destroyed in arson attack at Snugburys be restored? #RebuildTheRabbit". Stoke Sentinel. 4 February 2017.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ a b "The Ice Cream Shop". Snugburys. Archived from the original on 27 December 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  6. ^ a b "It's a 'sister act' at Snugburys as trio take over from parents". Stoke Sentinel. 16 February 2016.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "Outside events". Snugburys. Archived from the original on 6 May 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  8. ^ "Trentham Estate welcomes the city's first Snugburys ice cream parlour". Stoke Sentinel. 29 March 2016.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "Flavours". Snugburys. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  10. ^ "The 50 finest food shops outside London". Telegraph.co.uk. 8 October 2012.
  11. ^ "People go crackers for Snugburys cheese ice cream!". Nantwich News. 31 July 2015.
  12. ^ a b "Giant Straw Sculptures of Snugburys Ice Cream Farm". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  13. ^ a b "New starter Catherine swaps ice cream for oats at Mornflake in Crewe". Crewe Chronicle. 18 September 2012.
  14. ^ a b Guinness World Records 2015. Guinness World Records. 11 September 2014. ISBN 9781908843708.
  15. ^ a b c d Ellams, Barry (14 July 2019). "SEVEN times Snugbury's straw sculptures blew us away - but what will come next?". chesterchronicle.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad "Sculptures". Snugburys. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  17. ^ "Giant meerkat catches eye of motorists". Stoke Sentinel. 22 July 2010.[permanent dead link]
  18. ^ "DaLICK - Who's for ice cream? | Snugburys". www.snugburys.co.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  19. ^ "Giant Dalek invades Cheshire countryside". Chester Chronicle. 1 August 2013.
  20. ^ "DaLICK is king of the cones - Raising over £3000 for Cancer Research UK | Snugburys". www.snugburys.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  21. ^ "Forty-foot Peter Rabbit statue built to mark Beatrix Potter's 150th anniversary burnt down in suspected arson". The Daily Telegraph. 3 February 2017.
  22. ^ a b Lucia, Carmella de (9 August 2019). "The new Snugburys sculpture that's replaced Peter Rabbit". chesterchronicle.
  23. ^ a b Cream, Snugburys Ice (14 August 2024). "Paddington Sculpture at Snugbury's Ice Cream Nantwich". Snugburys. Retrieved 7 September 2024.