Well known Sheffield fish fryer passes away

Peter Broomhead was a well known face in Crookes, and had taken over the running of Broomheads Fish and Chip shop from his father and grandfather.

A family statement said: “Broomheads Fish and Chip Shop in Crookes has been a familiar landmark for people who have lived in the area for many years.

“Sadly Peter Broomhead passed away last month. He and his brother John had traced their family tree back to 1748.

“Before the days of the internet they searched town hall records, visiting churches and graveyards, but they didn’t need that to know that fish frying ran in the family.

“Peter’s father Percy and his grandfather Joseph were fish fryers too, as were several of his uncles.

“He always talked about being in the trade. He moved to the shop in 1955 and retired in 1990. Intent on continuing the family tradition, Peter’s shop in Crookes has passed to his son John.”

The family remember visiting him and his wife, Jean, in Crookes, watching him put the potatoes in the rumbler and then in the chipper in the back of the shop and filleting the fish by hand.

The statement added: “Everything was done with skill and pride and there was always a free lunch for family.

“There were no freezers and nothing pre-prepared in those days.

“After retiring Peter followed his passion for caravanning and moved to North Yorkshire, but Sheffield was in his blood and he took as much of it with him as he could - with dozens of books about the city and treasured photographs including the first ever family shop in the late 1800s, which you can still see in Leopold Street.”