Letter writing with Hannah Glasse
LETTER FROM HANNAH GLASSE TO MRS WIDDRINGTON, CIRCA 1746, REFERENCE: ZAL40/3
Length: 5:26. A letter, probably from 1746, from Hannah Glasse to her Aunt in Hexham provides a recipe to protect against the plague along with fascinating glimpses of daily life.
HANNAH GLASSE
Hannah Glasse (1708-1770), the daughter of Isaac Allgood a Northumbrian landowner, was a cookbook author. In 1747 she published the cookery book ‘The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy’.
LETTER WRITING
Before there were telephones, telegrams or computers, people stayed in touch by writing letters to each other. In the 18th century, letters were handwritten, and the writer would include news about their lives and what was happening. In 1746 Hannah Glasse was living in London and wrote to her Aunt, Margaret Widdrington who lived near Hexham. Margaret was her father’s sister. A number of the letters Hannah wrote to Margaret have survived and they tell us about Hannah’s life and also about events taking place at the time –her cookery book was at the printers; the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion and her own recipe for warding off the “Plague”.
💡Do people still write letters?
💡What would you use to write a letter today?
💡How do you share your news with people?
SENDING LETTERS
Letters in the 18th century were postmarked but did not have stamps. Postage was also paid by the person receiving the letter and not the sender. The Mail coach was not introduced until 1782. Prior to that, letters would have been taken around the country by either mounted local post boys or stagecoach traveling between towns. The letters were delivered to the local postmaster who would arrange for their delivery by hand. This process could take several days as horse drawn coaches could only travel at between 5 and 8 miles per hour depending on the roads and the weather conditions.
💡How do you keep in touch with your family and friends? Does it change depending how far away they live?
💡How long do you think it would have taken Hannah’s letter to be delivered?
🌍Look at a map, can you plot the route the letter might have taken?
THE LETTER
Hannah’s letters are written in a “chatty” style and indicate that she had received education. Her spelling and lack of punctuation seems odd to the modern reader but at this stage all spelling was phonetical and not standardised and so they are typical of their time.
This is a translation of Hannah’s letter.
To
Mrs Widdrington at Hexham, near Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland
Dear Madam
With great concern, I received the news of poor Aunt Molly’s death, whom I am very sorry for. Her death, I fear, was sudden and therefore more surprising to you all. We shall pay all the respect we can to her death.
I shall find a few walnuts with my brother’s things, one pot which must beg your acceptance of, one for my sister, and one for Aunt Maggie.
I hope there will soon be an end to the rebellion for if it holds much longer half the people in this town will be undone. Pray God the Duke may not be killed for the soldiers love him and therefore will do more for him than anyone else.
Mistress Pocock is very obliging, and enquires much after your healths. She is a clever woman and the best housewife I ever saw. And as good a farmer as any in England. She heard Peggy was to go to Mrs Lynn’s and came the other day herself to recommend a milliner, one whom she has known many years. Her mother had twenty thousand pounds, her father a great merchant, but broke. And the two sisters, being very ingenious women, set up a milliner’s shop, make all their own tippets, short aprons, trimmings etc. Never had an apprentice before. Keeps an errand girl. Will take her for £50 pounds for five years. (She) is to breakfast, dine and sup with them, unless there be company to supper, then by herself. (She) is to have a little room to herself, nothing to do with the maid, never to go out after dusk, never to go to an inn or wait on a gentleman, but set close to her work. And Mistress Pocock says, if she lives, she will give Peggy a good lift, if she is for herself or partners with them, which may be done if they live. She is to go a month on trial. It is the milliner Mistress Allgood bought those pretty tippets and short apron off.
My book goes on very well and everybody is pleased with it. It is now in the press. There is one recipe in it which I thought was proper to send you at this time when you have so bad a fever, which is as follows:
A Recipe against the Plague
Take of rue, sage, mint, rosemary, wormwood and lavender a handful of each.
Infuse them together in a gallon of white wine vinegar. Put the whole into a stone pot closely covered up and pasted over the cover.
Set the pot, thus closed up, upon warm wood ashes for eight days, after which draw off (or strain through fine flannel) the liquid and put it into bottles well corked.
And into every quart bottle put a quarter of an ounce of camphor.
With this preparation wash your mouth and rub your loins and your temples every day.
Snuff a little up your nostrils when you go into the air and carry about you a bit of sponge dipped in the same in order to smell to upon all occasions, especially when you are near any place or person that is infected.
They write that four malefactors (who had robbed
infected houses, and murdered the people during the
course of the plague) owned, when they came to the
gallows, that they had preserved themselves from the
contagion by using the above medicine only, and that
they went the whole time from house to house – without
any fear of the distemper.
I doubt you did not receive my last. If you had you would
not have been surprised not finding your quilt in the box. It is safe.
My affectionate love to my brother and sister, and pray tell him Mr Denton paid me my year’s annuity.
As to Henny, whatever thoughts I had this rebellion has put an end to all things for the present.
Mr Glasse discerns his compliments, and believe me to be with great respect, dear madam, your most affectionate and dutiful niece.
H Glasse
📚Try reading Hannah’s letter to her aunt Margaret. Is it easy to read?
🗣Read the letter out loud. Does this make it easier to understand?
🗣What kind of accent do you think Hannah would have had based on how she writes? Can you read the letter in her accent?
🎥Can you make your own video of the letter being read out?
✏How would words look if they were spelled phonetically in your accent? Try writing a sentence phonetically as you would say it.
💡Do you recognise the ingredients that Hannah lists in the plague remedy?
💡Do you think the plague remedy would work? Why?
🔍 Have a walk around your local area. Can you identify any of the ingredients nearby?
🔍What other plants can you identify in your local area? Look them up and see if they can be used as medicines or remedies.
✏ Can you write your own herbal remedy recipe using the plants that you have found growing nearby?
✏ Have a go at making your own herbal remedy recipe book. Make a drawing of the plants that you see nearby, you could write down their name, where to find them and what illnesses and ailments they could be used to treat, along with recipes for your remedies.
💡Is there anything unusual about how Hannah addresses her aunt and talks about the people she knows? Is it different to how we talk today?
✏ Try writing a letter to a friend or family member about your life and current events.
✏ Imagine you’re Margaret. What might you reply to Hannah?
✏ Imagine you can send a letter back to Hannah from the present day. What would you tell her? How much do you think the world has changed?
✏ How different does Hannah’s handwriting look to yours? Can you try writing in her handwriting style?
🎥 You can watch Hannah make the plague recipe in the film Hannah Glasse Saves the Nation at the following link: https://youtu.be/OHlYKfqei8s
INVISIBLE INK
Did you know, you can use lemon juice to write in secret invisible ink as shown here from the Every Good Housewife’s Guide Book from the early 20th Century.
✏ Try writing a secret letter to someone using lemon juice. Instead of holding the letter to the fire, you can use any heat source such as a radiator, light-bulb or hairdryer. Make sure they know how to turn the writing black!
💡What is the science behind secret ink? Why does lemon juice turn black when held to the fire?
💡 Can you think of any other ways to make invisible ink? How could you write secret messages using candle wax?
✒ Have a go at making your own ink. Take care as this could stain your clothes, you may want to wear an apron. Take 1oz charcoal or ash from a barbeque or fire pit. Crush it into a fine powder and place in a clean jar. Add 1oz distilled water to the jar. Whisk the mixture until all clumps of charcoal or ash have disappeared and the mixture is smooth. Add one drop of white vinegar to the mixture, this will stabilise it and make it permanent when you write with the ink. Your ink is now ready to use! You could experiment with using different writing or drawing tools, such as using sticks. Tightly seal the jar and store it in a cool dark place when you’re not using it.