120 ways of using bread

Back in the early 1930s a little bit of colour was needed in austerity  Britain. But many people were desperately short of money and needed to make the most of what they had.

Bread was a staple foodstuff, but it was important to ensure none was wasted. So here we have a 1930s cook booklet, devoted exclusively to bread.

120 ways of using Bread is a recipe book at Market Lavington Museum

It’s called 120 Ways of Using Bread for tasty & delightful dishes. The book cost 6d (2½p). That was quite a lot of money for you could have bought a couple of large loaves for that. But no doubt the lovely colour picture of an up to date kitchen tempted people, along with the idea that any stale bread could find a use.

But in fact it seems this book was given by an Easterton based baker, Percy Bullock. He gave it to occupants of Clyffe Hall in Market Lavington. We do not know if he used it to welcome new residents and remind them that his business existed, or whether it was a thank you for making use of his firm.

It was given to residents of Clyffe Hall by Percy George Bullock of Easterton

But for whatever reason, it was given with his compliments.

Interesting to note that you got a bit more than you bargained for – 127 ways of using bread.

You’ll be able to sample recipes from this book if you buy a ticket and come to our Museum Miscellany on October 4^th. Tickets are on sale in Market Lavington Post Office.

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Delivering the Bread

Just recently people have been arriving at the Market Lavington Museum blog having searched for items about bread delivery carts and vans. This post, which follows on from yesterday’s offering, adds a different dimension to bread delivery – via the motorbike and sidecar.

The people are the same as those shown yesterday – Jim Sheppard in control with Chris Cooper behind. Jim was Easterton’s ‘Tip Top’ baker and Chris was an employee.

Jim Sheppard and Chris Cooper complete a bread delivery round in Easterton – late 1920s

The photo isn’t a brilliant one. Clearly it was taken more or less straight into the sun. The location is just outside Jubilee Cottages. Perhaps this was the end of a delivery for the motorbike is about to cross the bridge over the stream in front of the garage. Behind them we see a section of the terrace of houses that still line the Easterton Street.

Unfortunately, we can’t make out what the motorbike is but the sidecar is clear enough. It clearly has boxes for bread and the standard baker’s bread basket for delivering to the door. It was probably very suitable transport for a new business in the late 1920s.

Our next hope is to know more about Chris Cooper. We’ll take a guess and hope somebody will tell us if we are wrong. We only find one Chris Cooper in the area. He was born in 1909 in Little Cheverell but his father, brick worker Sidney was a Market Lavington man and Chris had an Easterton born granny. In 1926 Sidney and his wife Lottie appear on the electoral roll as living at Fiddington Sands so it seems a fair bet that Chris would have lived in the area too, although at a mere 17 years of age he’d not have been an elector. We suspect this Christopher is the young man in both today’s and yesterday’s photo.

An old bread oven

We’d better start by saying this is not the best photo we have in the museum. It was taken in the 1969 when some clearance work was going on in an area known as The Plantation at the foot of Lavington Hill. An old oven was uncovered in a chalky cliff.

An old bread oven unearthed on White Street, Market Lavington

Taking photos of chalk in sunshine is always awkward. Chalk is so – well – white!

Let’s zoom in.

Bread oven – White Street, Market Lavington. It dates from before 1865

There we see the oven.

The real interest is its antiquity. The cottages here – and a bread oven must have belonged to one of them – were demolished in 1865. This oven remained hidden for 100 years.

Sad to say, we do not know what became of it.

Daren Bread

Daren bread was a brown, but not wholemeal loaf. It was once a well known style of bread and street adverts for it still exist around the country. Often these adverts emphasise the health benefits of this type of bread and also its suitability for invalids. It was a ‘germ’ bread, rich in wheat germ which increased the level of a number of vital nutrients such as vitamin E, folic acid and various trace elements, essential to health.

Bread made to the Daren recipe was baked at Walton’s store in Market Lavington. Mr Walton had extensive premises on both sides of White Street around the turn of the twentieth century. His shop and its employees have been seen on these pages before.

But today we look at an advertising card for Daren Bread.

Card advertising daren Bread to be found at Market Lavington Museum

This was, presumably, made for use by various bakers and then over-stamped with the local firm’s name.

The bread was baked and sold at Mr Waltons lavington Supply Stores

Daren bread seems to have vanished entirely. Does anyone have the recipe?

The Sainsbury Bread Charity

Sainsbury is one of the most common names in the old baptism registers for Market Lavington with some 250 people of that surname baptised between the 1660s and the 1830s. This puts it on a par with the commonest name in the country – Smith. The Sainsbury family were important in terms of numbers.

But some were also important in terms of status. Amongst these was Thomas Sainsbury.

Thomas Sainsbury, Market Lavington born and Lord Mayor of London in 1786

The memorial in the church chancel reads-

Thomas Sainsbury Esq son of Samuel and Elizabeth Sainsbury born the 25th December 1730 Died 16th May 1795 chosen Alderman of the Ward of Billingsgate the year 1778 Sheriff of London and Middlesex 1780 and Lord Mayor of London 1786

 

So Market Lavington born Thomas became Lord Mayor of London.

Three Sainsbury family members have set up a local charity, which is known as the Sainsbury Bread Charity. Thomas gave £200 to be invested with the income to be distributed amongst the poor by his will of 1795. William Sainsbury added a similar amount by his will of 1796, which came into effect when he died in 1806.

In 1833 the charity provided 668 loaves of bread shared amongst 160 families.

In  1846, Maria Sainsbury’s will added another £200 to the fund. This allowed about £16 of bread to be distributed at the start of the 20^th century. In 1972 the money available was about £28.

The bread charity ticket we have at Market Lavington Museum dates from around 1960 and has been signed by the Reverend Daunford Davies.

Sainsbury Bread Charity ticket from about 1960 - now at Market Lavington Museum

Amongst many Sainsbury items we have at Market Lavington Museum there is an enormous Sainsbury family tree. The terms of the gift of this prevent us from publishing it so if you want to see it you’ll need to make a trip to Market Lavington.

A Bread Cart Carriage Lamp

In times past, lighting was very different from what we are used to today. Even in fairly rural Market Lavington and Easterton we expect street lamps and we expect vehicles moving at night to be clearly visible and to deliver enough light for drivers to see everything.

In the days of the horse drawn bread cart night was a much darker time (and what glorious night skies people would have seen as a result). When the Notton family had the bakery business (based between the present Post Office and the Co-op) a couple of candle lamps on the cart were all they used for illumination. Of course, the speed they went was probably that of a walking horse, so poor light would not have been too dangerous.

One of the Notton’s lamps has found its way to Market Lavington Museum.

Carriage lamp from the Notton's bread cart believed to date from about 1880

At the time of the 1851 census, Thomas Notton was a baker and glover on High Street, Market Lavington. His son, Richard, born in 1827 in Market Lavington was running the business in 1861.

By 1871 Catharine Notton, widow of Richard was a baker on High Street, Market Lavington. It must have been hard coping with the business and a young family.

In 1881 Catharine, still only 60, was running the business with two sons who were adult and bakers by then.

One of these sons, Alfred was the baker in 1891, but mother Catharine was still there.

In 1901, the business was in the hands of Edward Notton, his wife, Helen and five children. Edward was described on the census as a baker and corn factor.

Edward was still a Baker in 1911. In fact Edward remained a villager until his death in 1941. He is buried in the churchyard.

After a brief look at the Notton family, back to the lamp, which we believe, dates from around 1880.