Tudor Revels Southampton

The ‘Floating Flemyngs’ monument, St. Nicolas’ Church, North Stoneham, Hampshire.

On Sunday 10th June I attended Southampton-based Tudor Revels’ inaugural study day, ‘Money, Class and Wealth: Rescuing Forgotten Lives’, at the historic and recently refurbished Dolphin Hotel, Southampton.  The event was a huge success with nearly eighty people in attendance. A truly inspirational day for historians and anyone who loves Tudor history. I went home stimulated and inspired to revisit this important historical period. The obvious popularity of the event is proof that history really is enjoying a surge in popularity and long may it continue.

A few words on Tudor Revels.  The Southampton Tudor Project: From Records to Revels is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and supported by a large number of community partners (CLICK HERE). The aim of the project is to celebrate Southampton’s Tudor past and document, using surviving archival records, material remains and portraiture, the people who flourished in Southampton between 1485 and 1603.  It is hoped the project will widen scholarship on the city and raise its heritage profile.

A stylish new website (CLICK HERE) has been created to support the project and I encourage you to have a look, it was officially launched during the study day. The interactive map of Tudor Southampton is genius and very easy to use if you are a dab hand with your computer mouse. When you see a red flag appear above a building, click on it and a short description of that building’s use in Tudor times will appear on-screen.

The website also has a searchable database (CLICK HERE) with biographical information on some of Southampton’s Tudor citizens.  The database is very easy to navigate and already contains a large number of entries.  It is estimated that by the end of 2013, there will be 5,000 completed biographies.  Scholars, historians, genealogists, population statisticians and the general public can access, for free, this valuable biographical data.

Dr Cheryl Butler, a member of the editorial board, commented on the website and project in general: ‘It will be a place for preserving lost research facilitated by the use of new technology.  The project will help to enthuse and engage the wider public in a celebration of Southampton’s Tudor citizens. We have already trained twenty volunteer researchers, from the community, to work with us. These volunteers will become heritage champions.’

The project additionally funds an Artist in Residence, Alys Scott-Hawkins, who will document meetings and events, run workshops on the founder of Southampton, Sir Bevis, create a banner depicting Bevis’ wife Fair Josian and encourage fellow artists to become involved in the project’s flagship event, a Michaelmas Fayre on the weekend of 29th-30th September 2012, St. Michael’s Square, Southampton.

The study day began with a lecture by Harry Willis Fleming on the ancestry of his own family, the Flemings (later Willis Fleming), with a focus on their activities during the Tudor period.  Harry is a cultural historian, writer and currently a 2012 Research Fellow at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds investigating the artist Richard Cockle Lucas (1800-1883).   Harry offered plenty of helpful hints for anyone researching Tudor biographies, including the fact that Parish Registers began in this era and from 1500 onwards wills were no longer written in Latin. He drew our attention to a number of material artefacts, relating to the Flemings, that still survive today in and around Southampton.  One artefact was the Fleming coat of arms on the outside of the Bargate. The Fleming’s coat of arms consists of three owls on a background with a chevron.

The Bargate, Southampton.

The Fleming’s coat of arms, Bargate, Southampton.

The Fleming coat of arms displayed on the top of the ‘Floating Flemyngs’ monument.

The other artefact was a sculpture by Anthony Griffiths (1991) of John Le Fleming (1295-1336), a former Mayor of Southampton, located on Southampton City Walls.  During the lunch break I made a quick dash to these two locations and took a couple of photographs.

Sculpture of John le Fleming (1295-1336) by Anthony Griffiths (1991), located on the Southampton City Walls. John Mayor of Southampton in 1315.

Harry then discussed the tomb of Sir Thomas Fleming (1544-1613) and wife Mary, a monument known locally as ‘the Floating Flemyngs’ on account of its configuration.

The ‘Floating Flemyings’ monument, St. Nicolas’ Church, North Stoneham, Hampshire.

The tomb is located in St. Nicolas’ Church, North Stoneham, Hampshire. Sir Thomas was the judge who presided over the trial of Guy Fawkes and others involved in the gunpowder plot (1605).  During the course of my own research on the Wriothesley family, I discovered that the manor of North Stoneham was acquired by Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, c1540.  In 1599, the Wriothesley family sold the manor and advowson to Sir Thomas Fleming.

St. Nicolas’ Church, North Stoneham.

I visited St. Nicolas’ Church last Saturday on the off-chance it might be open (it very rarely is). I was lucky, on account of an afternoon wedding, I gained entry. The very helpful verger allowed me to take a few photographs before the guests started to arrive and I had to beat a hasty retreat.

Detail from the ‘Floating Flemyings’ monument.

Sir Thomas Fleming.

Lady Mary Fleming.

The ‘Floating Flemyngs’ monument is stunning close-up.  Mary and Thomas Fleming’s facial features are exquisite. Whilst at the Church I also purchased a guide-book written by Anne Bakes, The Parish of North Stoneham and Bassett: Its History, Churches and People 932-1995.  The chapter on the monument is a fascinating background read. Bakes’ description of the monument reads: ‘Their [Thomas and Mary] elaborate memorial in the church depicts them both in court robes, lying on their sides, with their remaining children kneeling along the base.  Their heir, another Thomas, is in the centre depicted rather larger than the other children…Lady Mary was left with four of her sons and two daughters from eight sons and seven daughters!’ (Bakes, M., 1996, p.11) For more information on the Willis Fleming family, CLICK HERE.

Detail from the base of the ‘Floating Flemyngs’ monument showing some of Thomas and Mary’s children kneeling.

One of the Fleming children at the base of the monument.

Thomas Jnr, son and heir, kneeling at the base of the monument.

Another fascinating study day lecture was given by Dr Mary South who discussed some of the challenges faced by historians when using Tudor portraiture to stimulate biographical research. Dr South gave as her example a painting, thought to be of Nicholas Fuller (b. 1557), that hangs over the fireplace in the Banqueting Hall at Tudor House and Gardens, Southampton.  As a result of extensive research, Dr South discovered that the gentleman in the painting was not in fact Nicholas Fuller but John Sotherton (1562-1631), who from the 16th June 1579 until his death, was Baron of the court of Exchequer.

Tudor portrait that was the subject of Dr Mary South’s lecture. The portrait hangs over the fireplace in the Banqueting Hall at Tudor House and Gardens, Southampton.

Dr Cheryl Butler gave the lecture, ‘Dyperes, Dippers & Diapers: Bricklayers? Birdcatchers? Belgians?’.  Dr Butler is herself a descendent of the Diaper family. The Diapers left just one will and 10,000 descendants. They are a local family who have a long association with the village of Itchen Ferry, near Southampton. Dr Butler focussed upon what the family were up to in Tudor times. The Diaper Heritage Association have their own website, for further information on this extraordinary family, CLICK HERE.

Dr Butler gave a further lecture on the life of Edward Willmott and his hostelry The Dolphin Inn, Southampton. Edward had a wife, Margaret and four children, Edward Jnr, Alice, Averyn and Elizabeth.  Edward was an important citizen of Tudor Southampton, he was a wealthy merchant adventurer and a man of substantial property. He occupied a number of high-ranking positions of civic responsibility in the town, including: Steward (1550-1); Bailiff (1554); Sheriff (1555); Parliamentary Burgess (1558) and finally Mayor (1558-60). Dr Butler discovered that in 1559, whilst Edward was Mayor, he was presented with a sugar-loaf.  This was a very expensive and rare gift to have received in Tudor times and would have come from new discoveries being made in the colonies. The sugar-loaf was a symbol of Edward’s status in the Town, that he was deemed important enough to have merited such a gift.

Tudor produce showing sugar-loaf in a cone shape. For more information on Tudor cookery, please see my article ‘A Taste of the Tudor Kitchen’ (August 2011). CLICK HERE.

Tudor part of The Dolphin Hotel (formerly The Dolphin Inn).

Dr Butler’s research on Edward Willmott involved the use of Southampton Probate Inventories, 1447-1575, (2 vols., Southampton Records Series, vols. 34 and 35 by E. Roberts and K. Parker (1992)).  These ground-breaking publications are a valuable resource for anyone wishing to research Tudor Southampton.  Contained therein is Edward’s Will, dated 21st November, 1569, created from an inventory of chattels compiled on 16th February, 1569. Edward is referred to as a ‘merchant and innkeeper’.  The Will makes for an illuminating read and confirms the extent of the Willmott family’s material wealth and social status.

Below are two extracts from Edward Willmott’s Will. The first, details the contents of Mrs Willmott’s bedchamber:

Mrs Willmottes chamber; a stondinge beddsted, xx s; ij fetherbedes, xl s.; a flockebedd, vj  s viiij d.; iij coverlettes, xiij s iiij d.; a great cofer, xij s; another greate chest, xv s; ij other small chest where she lyeth, v s; a table wth the frame, x s; a strory wth a frame, x s. (a little story); the back & a bench xiij s iiij d; (a bible); payntid clothes, vj s viij d; a curtyn & the rod for the windo, xvj d.

(Roberts & Parker, 1992, p. 284)

In the kitchen:

brochis; xiij wherof ij byrd broche, xxx s; a great payer of Rackes, xvj s viij d; a iij payer cottrelles, vj s; ij flatt barrs to defende the dripping pannes, iij s iiij d; iij great gryddyers, ix s; iij payer of potthokes, xvj d; ij payer of tonges & iij fyer pannes, v s; ij fryinge pannes, ij s; ij dogges, xij d; a morter of brasse & a pestell of Iren, iij s; j chopinge kniffe, ij d; ij great pannes, xxx s; iiij lesser pannes, xxvj [s] viij d; iij kettles wth Iren bandes, x s; a Flaundrs bottle of copper, viij s; a olde bed panne, ij s; iij skomers of brasse, xij d; ij little pannes, ij s; v small skillettes, v s; iij caste posenettes, vj s; ij chafers of brasse x s; vij brasse pottes, xl s;  j chafyn dishe wth a fote, iij s iiij d; iij other chafindisshes, iiij s; a musterd Querne, xx d; a small sesteren of ledes weghing by estimacon di’C, iiij s; a wenles & a bocke wth the rope for the well, iij s iiij d; a water fossere, ij s; Summa, xij li vj s vj d.

(Ibid, p. 286-7)

The Dolphin Inn had twenty-two rooms, a cellar and counting house, it was the largest Inn in Southampton. Glass and wood panelling were deemed moveable objects and therefore classed as chattels. Carpets were not laid on the floor but hung on the wall and fine lawn would have been used at windows. A large number of fireplaces and chimneys in your house was seen as a sign of wealth. These architectural symbols of prosperity can be seen a plenty in the ruins of Wriothesley’s country seat, Place House, Titchfield.

Averyn Willmott married an apprentice of her father, John Sedgewick and they received the Tenancy of the Inn.  Edward Jnr died without issue and Alice Willmott inherited the rest of her father’s estate.  Unfortunately, Alice married Clement Smith, Town Gunner. Clement sold-off the birth rights that his wife had inherited from her father’s estate. The original estate had been valued at £372 5s 10d, he sold it for £13 6s 8d!  Clement also owned a privateering ship called Godspeed and was by all accounts a bit of rascal. He also sold-off a farm that Alice had inherited from her father.  The farm was sold to John Croke, Merchant and former Mayor of Southampton.  During Croke’s mayorship (1568-9) he entertained Queen Elizabeth I and her vast retinue at a cost to the town of £360.  The entertainment included bear-baiting, bagpiping and theatrical performances. The Queen was passing through Southampton on her way to Basing.  She had been staying at Titchfield Place as a guest of Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton (1545-1581)Following Dr Butler’s lecture on the Inn’s history, we re-assembled at the back of the building to view what remains of the structure from the Tudor period.   In one of the back bedrooms, original timbers are still visible.

Acting companies and players often stayed at The Dolphin, performing at either the Inn’s gallery or in the courtyard. In C. E. C. Burch’s Minstrels and Players in Southampton 1428-1635 (1969) reference is made to the Town Steward’s accounts of 1539-40 which gives details of one such performance. Although, in this case, the performance appears not to have taken place but the actors were paid anyway: ‘The 14 daye September to the kyngs pleyers at the dolffyne which pleyd nott 6/8d’. (Burch C. E. C., 1969, p. 16) Burch observes that: ‘The players who did not play at the Dolphin in Southampton in 1539-40 would have played in the yard, approached, as now, through an arch from the High Street. (Ibid. p. 20)

The Dolphin Hotel has long been of historical interest to scholars. In Rev. J. Silvester Davies’, A History of Southampton (1883) he includes an entry for The Dolphin:

At the beginning of the sixteenth century the parish appears to have had some interest in the Dolphin. Thus in June 1506, a tenant came before John Godfrey, mayor, and before the churchwardens and parishioners of Holy Rood, and ‘bound himself sufficiently to repair all such building as is now in the house that he dwelleth in, called the Dolphin, upon pain of forfeiting his indentures of the same house.’ The present Dolphin Hotel is partly in Holy Rood parish and partly in St. Lawrence’s, a former owner having thrown two houses into one by joining to his hotel, which was in Holy Rood parish, a wine merchant’s shop contiguous in St. Lawrence’s parish.

(Davies, Rev. J. S., 1883, pp. 364-5)

Nearly a century later Nikolaus Pevsner and David Lloyd, wrote The Buildings of England: Hampshire and The Isle of Wight, describing The Dolphin thus:

The Dolphin Hotel is the best C18 building in the city proper.  It has a mainly red-brick symmetrical façade with a small pediment, and another elliptical archway in a stuccoed rusticated ground storey.  It’s specially distinctive features are the great bow windows, one each side on the ground and first storeys, among the largest anywhere.  There is a lower, yellow brick early C19 N extension, recently heightened a story.

(Pevsner & Lloyd, 1967, p. 547)

The Tudor Revels team have put together a superb programme of educational activities and workshops, a majority of which are free of charge.  I recently attended one of the first workshops from this programme, ‘Making Ends Meet Tudor Style: Feltmaking’ by the textile artist, Vicki Hodgson. An article on this will follow shortly. Here are brief details of Tudor Revels’ forthcoming events, more information on each activity can be found on their main website. CLICK HERE.

Tudor Revels Programme of Events 2012

• 21st July – Edible and Medicinal Plants. St. James’ Park, Shirley, Southampton. Walk with botanist Celia Cox. Not suitable for children under twelve.  (Pre-booking essential), 2.30-4pm, FREE;
• 21st & 22th July – Making Ends Meet Tudor Style: Pottery, Hawthorns Urban Wildlife Centre, Southampton, 10-4pm, FREE;
• 28th & 29th July – Making Ends Meet Tudor Style: Beekeeping & Candlemaking, Hawthorns Urban Wildlife Centre, Southampton 10-4pm, FREE;
• 29th July – Centenary of Tudor House and Garden Museum, Southampton, 6p entrance fee on this day only, guided tours at 10am, 11am, 12 noon, 2pm and 3pm (pre-booking for these essential);
• 11th August – The Old Bowling Green Open Day, Lower Canal Walk, Southampton, 11-2pm, FREE.  This is the oldest bowling green in the world, dating from c1299.  A rare opportunity to look around and hear more about the history of bowling in Southampton;
• 12th August – Craft Workshop, The Fair Josian: Banner Making Workshop, The Bargate Monument Gallery, High Street, Southampton, 10-4pm, FREE (Pre-booking essential).  A family workshop with artist Alys Scott-Hawkins exploring the town legend of Bevis and Ascupart and drawing inspiration from the sixteenth century oak panels in the Bargate gallery.  The completed banner will then be carried in the St. Michaelmas Fayre procession on the morning of 30th September 2012;
• 18th & 19th August – Making Ends Meet Tudor Style: Pole Lathe Turning and Woodcarving, Hawthorns Urban Wildlife Centre, Southampton 10-4pm, FREE;
• 18th August – People of Tudor House, Guided walk, organised by Friends of Southampton Old Cemetery, old cemetery, Southampton, 2-3.30pm, FREE (booking required, details given on Tudor Revels’ main website);
• 19th August – Procession to Our Lady of Grace, pilgrimage in the footsteps of Henry VIII’s visit to Southampton in 1509;
• 12th September – Guided Walk of St. Andrews Church, Hamble-le-Rice, Nr Southampton, 7-8.30pm, FREE;
• 20th September – Pastimes and Good Company, Tudor Games and Pastimes, illustrated talk and replica artefact handling session, evidence from King Henry VIII’s Mary Rose, 7-9pm, North Guild Lecture Theatre, Civic Centre, Southampton, FREE;
• 29th September – Michaelmas Fayre, St. Michael’s Square, Southampton, FREE. Free entry to Tudor House and Garden on this day.  Guided tours of Tudor House at 11am and 3pm (pre-booking essential);
• 29th September – Concert of Tudor Music, St. Michael’s Church, Southampton, 7.30-9.30pm, FREE;
• 30th September – Michaelmas Fayre, St. Michael’s Square, Southampton, 11-4pm, FREE;
• 4th October – Alison Weir – Author Talk, ‘Mary Boleyn the Great and Infamous Whore’, 7.30-9.30pm, North Guild Lecture Theatre, Civic Centre, Southampton, £4;
• 6th October – Guided walk around Netley Abbey, 2-3.30pm, FREE;
• 13th October – Court and Port Study Day –  The Tudor Court and The Port of Southampton, Avenue Campus, University of Southampton, 10-5pm, £20;
• 19th October – Propeller Theatre’s Pocket Henry V, 7pm, The Point, Eastleigh, Southampton, £10;
• 21st October – Guided walk St Nicolas’ Church, North Stoneham – a rare opportunity to visit this delightful and fascinating church associated with the Willis Fleming family 2-3.30pm, FREE.
• FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ALL OF THE ABOVE EVENTS CLICK HERE.
• Tudor House and Garden, Southampton:
• 14th & 15th July; 11th & 12th August; 8th September – 11-2pm Tudor Hawking – Bird of Prey, the event is FREE but entrance charges to the Museum apply. Meet costumed Tudor falconers and real-life hawks, learn more about falconry heritage too;
• 14th July – 10.30-4pm – Tudor Tiles, £38 per person (pre-booking essential).  This workshop will enable you to learn about the history of medieval and Tudor encaustic inlaid tiles and also have the opportunity to work with a professional ceramicist  (ex-Poole potter Debra Marsh) to create your own tile which will fired off-site for you to collect on a separate day. All materials provided.  If you want to gain some inspiration for taking part in this workshop, then have a look at my earlier article on Titchfield Abbey, ‘The Wriothesleys of Titchfield’.  The medieval tiles that have survived from the former Abbey are some of the best in the South of England. For the article, CLICK HERE. (The tiles can be found towards the end of the article).

  

  Gardens at Tudor House, Southampton, Hampshire.

  

  Tudor House and Gardens, Southampton, Hampshire.

Heroines from the History of English Domestic Cookery – Mrs Rundell

Victorian cast iron, coal-fired, cooking range. Tudor House and Gardens, Southampton, Hampshire.

I am delighted to be able to bring you another domestic cookery treasure, recently unearthed from my secondhand bookshop trawl. The publication is Mrs Rundell’s A New System of Domestic Cookery formed upon Principles of Economy and adapted to the use of Private Families, 1862 edition, published by Milner & Sowerby. The publication was very popular in both England and America.  First published in England in 1806 and in America the following year. Until 1844 the American edition was reprinted 15 times and the English edition a staggering 67 times! In the recipes I have selected you will see there is a distinct American influence, ‘dough nuts’ and ‘New England pancakes’ for instance. The final edition to be published in England appeared in 1893.

So, who was Mrs Rundell? Maria Eliza Rundell (née Ketelby) was born in Ludlow, Shropshire in 1745, the only child of barrister Abel Johnson Ketelby.  In 1766 she married Thomas Rundell, who practiced as a surgeon in Bath and the two of them set-up home together there. The couple raised 2 sons and 3 daughters.  Unfortunately, Thomas Rundell died in 1795 and this tragic event prompted Maria to move to Swansea, Wales. She began feverishly collecting recipes and household management tips to pass on to her daughters, so that they too would be able to run successful households of their own once married. Maria also sent her collection to an old family friend, the well-respected publisher John Murray. He thought the collection would make for an excellent publication.

The first edition was printed in 1806 under the title Domestic Cookery. The book became a publishing sensation and in addition to the numerous English language editions, was also translated into German in 1841. The target readership for Mrs Rundell’s book being the middle-class household. In the introduction she states, ‘….When young ladies marry, they frequently continue their own maids in the capacity of house-keepers; who, as they may be more attached to their interest than strangers, become very valuable servants. To such, the economical observations in this work will be as useful as the cookery; and it is recommendable in them to be strictly observant of both, which, in the course of a year or two, will make them familiar in the practice. It is much to be feared, that for the waste of many of the good things God has given for our use, not abuse, the mistress and servants of great houses will hereafter be called to strict account.’ (1862:xxxiii)

Her book was a lot more sophisticated in content than Mrs Mary Holland’s The Complete Economical Cook and Frugal Housewife.  Interestingly, Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management was first published in 1861. Following the success of Mrs B’s infamous tome, it is not surprising Mrs Rundell’s book was reprinted again in 1862 to cash-in on the renewed interest in household management advice. I have included here a selection of recipes that particularly caught my eye.

• Cucumber vinegar;
• Pilchard and leek pie;
• Dutch pudding or Souster;
• New England pancakes;
• Bockings;
• Podovies or beef patties;
• Baked custard;
• Dough nuts;
• Snow cream;
• A very fine Somersetshire syllabub;
• Hard biscuits;
• Vendor, or milk punch;
• Restorative pork jelly;
• Refreshing drink in a fever;
• Draught for a cough;
• Paste for chapped hands.

Cucumber vinegar

Pare and slice fifteen large cucumbers and put them in a stone jar, with three pints of vinegar, four large onions sliced, two or three shalots, a little garlick, two large spoonfuls of salt, three tea-spoonfuls of pepper, and half a tea-spoonful of cayenne.  After standing four days give the whole a boil, when cold, strain, and filter the liquor through paper.  Keep in small bottles add to salad, or eat with meat.

Pilchard and leek pie

Clean and skin the white part of some large leeks, scald in milk and water, and put them in layers in a dish, and between the layers, two or three salted pilchards which have been soaked for some hours the day before.  Cover the whole with a good plain crust.  When the pie is taken out of the oven, lift-up the side crust with a knife, and empty out all the liquor, then pour in half a pint of scalded cream.

Dutch pudding or Souster

Melt one pound of butter in half a pint of milk; mix it into two pounds of flour, eight eggs, four spoonfuls of yeast; add one pound of currants, and a quarter of a pound of sugar beaten and sifted.  This is a very good pudding hot, and equally so as a cake when cold.  If for the latter, caraways may be used instead of currants.  An hour will bake it in a quick oven.

New England pancakes

Mix a pint of cream, five spoonfuls of fine flour, seven yolks and four whites of eggs, and a very little salt; fry them very thin in fresh butter, and between each strew sugar and cinnamon.  Send-up six or eight at once.

Bockings

Mix three ounces of buck-wheat flour, with a tea-cupful of warm milk, and a spoonful of yeast, let it rise before the fire about an hour; then mix four eggs well beaten, and as much milk as will make the batter the usual thickness for pancakes and fry the same.

Podovies or beef patties

Shred underdone dressed beef with a little fat, season with pepper, salt, and a little shalot or onion.  Make a plain paste, roll it thin, and cut it in shape like an apple puff, fill it with the mince, pinch the edges, and fry them of a nice brown.  The pastie should be made with a small quantity of butter, egg and milk.

Baked custard

Boil one pint of cream, half a pint of milk; with mace, cinnamon, and lemon-peel, a little of each. When cold, mix the yolks of three eggs, sweeten and make your cups or paste nearly full.  Bake them 10 minutes.

Dough nuts

Rub a quarter of a pound of butter into a pound of flour, then add five ounces of sugar, two eggs, about a dessertspoonful of yeast, and sufficient milk to make it into a stiff-paste.  Let it stand to rise, then roll it out, and cut it into shapes, with a paste-cutter, and boil them in lard, till they are of a nice brown colour.

Snow cream

Put to a quart of cream the whites of three eggs well beaten, four spoonfuls of sweet wine, sugar to your taste, and a bit of lemon-peel, whip it up to a froth, remove the peel, and serve in a dish.

A very fine Somersetshire syllabub

In a large China bowl put a pint of port, and a pint of sherry, or other white wine, sugar to taste.  Milk the bowl full.  In twenty minutes’ time cover it pretty high with clouted cream; grate over it nutmeg, put pounded cinnamon and nonpareil comfits.

Hard biscuits

Warm two ounces of butter in as much skimmed milk as will make a pound of flour into a very stiff paste, beat it with a rolling-pin, and work it very smooth.  Roll it thin, and cut it into round biscuits, prick them full of holes with a fork.  About six minutes will bake them.

Vendor or milk punch

Pare six oranges and six lemons as thin as you can, grate them after with sugar, to get the flavour.  Steep the peels in a bottle of rum or brandy stopped close twenty-four hours.  Squeeze the fruit on two pounds of sugar, add to it four quarts of water, and one of new milk boiling hot, stir the rum into the above, and run it through a jelly bag till perfectly clear.  Bottle, and cork close immediately.

Dr Ratcliff’s restorative pork jelly

Take a leg of well-fed pork, just as cut-up, beat it, and break the bone.  Set it over a gentle fire, with three gallons of water, and simmer to one.  Let half an ounce of mace, and same of nutmegs, stew in it.  Strain through a five sieve.  When cold, take-off the fat.  Give a chocolate-cup the first and last thing, and at noon, putting salt to taste.

A refreshing drink in a fever

Put a little tea-sage, two sprigs of balm and a little wood-sorrel, into a stone jug, having first washed and dried them; peel thin a small lemon, and clear from the white; slice it, and put a bit of the peel in, then pour in three pints of boiling water, sweeten and cover it close.

Soft and fine draught for those who are weak and have a cough

Beat a fresh-laid egg, and mix it with a quarter of a pint of new milk warmed, a large spoonful of capillaire, the same of rose-water, and a little nutmeg scraped.  Don’t warm it after the egg is put in.  Take it first and last thing.

Paste for chapped hands and which will preserve them smooth by constant use

Mix a quarter of a pound of unsalted hog’s lard which has been washed in common, and then rose-water, with the yolks of two new-laid eggs, and a large spoonful of honey and as much fine oatmeal or almond-paste as will work into a paste.

To find out more about the Tudor House and Gardens, Southampton, Hampshire. Click here.

Victorian kitchen display. Tudor House and Gardens, Southampton, Hampshire