In 1792, a young Lord Edward Seymour was admitted to Christchurch College, Oxford and with him came his personal assistant Isaac Alden (1764-1832). One year later Lord Seymour become the 11th Duke of Somerset. Isaac stayed in Oxford and opened a butcher’s shop on Bear Lane in 1793. He lived above the shop with his wife and young son, Thomas.Thomas (1808-1877) and Robert (1841-1927) expanded the business with an abattoir and moved to Eastwyke Farm – less than a mile from Oxford city centre. Len, Rodney and Leonard Alden were followed by Richard who ran the business from 1966 until Matthew was appointed MD in 2003.Today the business is based in Osney Mead, Oxford and we have become a well-respected butcher supplying world-famous places including Oxford & Cambridge Universities, The Palace of Westminster as well as schools, restaurants and our wonderful retail customers.So much has changed over the last 227 years. There have been nine monarchs, 42 prime ministers serve, two world wars and eight pandemics. However, Aldens remains focused on product provenance, consistency, flavour, animal welfare and sustainability allowing us to deliver consistently better produce.