BUTCHER Steve Cook will be reviving Victorian memories at Devizes' golden jubilee celebrations.

Mr Cook, who owns Walter Rose & Son butchers in the town, will be roasting an ox on The Green on Monday June 3, the carving will start at 10am.

In June 1887, employees of Walter Rose & Son did the same thing to celebrate Queen Victoria's golden jubilee. Back then, the ox used was a massive 840lbs and took three hours to cook. The ox Mr Cook will be using will be about half the size. An 1887 photograph of the ox being roasted is still on display in Mr Cook's shop in Sidmouth Street. Mr Cook also has two bones from the same ox mounted in the shop. He said: "I have always thought it would be nice to replicate what they did in 1887.""The Golden Jubilee celebrations seemed too good an opportunity not to miss. Roasting an ox is rarely done so I am looking forward to it."

A report of the ox being roasted in 1887 described the considerable effort it took to cook it. The report says: "Cooking began at 7.30pm under the instruction of a journeyman roaster. A man at either end turned the carcass by crank handles, large dripping pans caught the fat. The mayor had the first slice and portions were sent to all inmates of the Workhouse.''