The Middleton Accounts of 1526: #4

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was dated 11^th January. It was described as a payment for the carriage of a tope of figs and another tope of raisins and 2 sugar loaves. The amount was 17 pence, which was the equivalent of about £31.26 today.

A tope is an historical unit of measurement in England, which specifically was used to measure a quantity of dried fruit. In this definition a tope was a basket or a measure equivalent to 20lbs (about 9kg) of the dried fruit. A sugar loaf was a large, hard, conical block of refined sugar, which was the standard form that sugar was sold in until the development of granulated and cubed sugar.

The purchase of these three ingredients brings the question of how could they have been used? There is one dessert which quickly comes to mind – figgy pudding. Figgy pudding is a medieval dish and its main ingredients are figs and raisins. However, its earliest form is unrecognisable to its modern form. In the 14^th century, figgy pudding was a kind of pottage and was savoury. It was only in the Tudor era that it first began to have a sweet form. However, even in the 17^th century, which was when it first began to have a solid appearance, it was still often savoury rather than sweet.

Re-enactment, Christmas in the Old Kitchen at Middleton Hall, 2024. Photograph taken by Steve Davies

Despite the Christmas carol “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” with its lyrics of “now bring us some figgy pudding”, figgy pudding was not traditionally associated with Christmas. That really only became an aspect in the 18^th century and was subsequently particularly promoted by the Victorians. The carol is believed to have developed in the 16^th or 17^th century. English wassailers would go door-to-door and offer a seasonal performance in exchange for treats. One of these treats was some of the rich figgy pudding, the ingredients of which were considerably beyond anything that anyone other than the very wealthy could afford.

Although it does appear that Sir Henry’s household may have been making a sweet figgy pudding, the date is well after Christmas. It is also beyond Twelfth Night but is within the Octave of Epiphany, which was an 8-day span of celebrations after the Feast of Epiphany. In this Octave there were also many Days known by the return of the workers to their work. This included Days such as Distaff Day, which was when women, in particular spinners, returned to their work, and Plough Monday, which was when the agricultural workers returned to work.               

Next entry: 22^nd January.

Further Reading: W. H. Stevenson, Report on the Manuscripts of Lord Middleton, Historical Manuscripts Commission, 1911. p379.

Author - Debbie Jordan, Middleton Hall Volunteer.

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