About Us

Two little boys slaving away in Yorkshire!

I am lucky enough to have grown up with my brother, Richard, in Womersley Yorkshire in a family of generations of botanically enthused people...

Martin & Aline Parsons at Womersley

My father, Martin Parsons, was a keen plantsman and gardener who made the most of our large kitchen garden in Yorkshire, filling it with an array of fragrant herbs and delicious fruit. Over the years from 1979 onwards when my parents, Martin and Aline, started their Aladdin’s cave of a craft and food shop in the quiet village of Womersley, we saw the reputation of the vinegars and jellies grow above all the other locally made crafts they stocked. Martin's flair for concoting deadly cocktails in his rakish youth was inherited from his father and he put that to good use with the vinegars and dressings.
My brother, Richard, and I used to spend many hours as children slaving away picking endless amounts of raspberries for the vinegar come rain or shine! Meanwhile, our father would merrily hum the tune "Two little boys" made famous by Rolf Harris.

In 2009, having spent my years since school repairing clocks, I exchanged time for thyme (groan) by initially helping my parents then taking over the fruity world of Womersley. I soon decided that it was very important that we rebranded the business in order to compete more efficiently and so our bottles would really stand out beautifully.

We won a Designing Demand Grant from the Design Council and appointed Mayday Living Brands to oversee our rebrand and design. Through them, we were introduced to the amazing Swedish artist, Petra Borner, who did the artwork for our new logo. I am so glad we rebranded the company, as so many people have told me how much they love our logo, that it is really bright and eye-catching.

Richard, meanwhile, now lives in northern New South Wales where he has a lovely big garden and grows bananas and macadamia nuts and all sorts of exotic plants, having got the same bug of being... Botanically Enthused


At Womersley, there are now just the two of us: me, Rupert, and my wife, Jani. But we work hard to bring you the best fruit vinegars, especially the multitasking one...