Hannah Glasse Saves the Nation
Audio Described Version:
Northumberland Archives and November Club introduce Hannah Glasse, the long-forgotten Northumberland Author of The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy, one of the most successful cookbooks of all time. In this specially commissioned film Hannah Glasse has come to save us with a very special recipe! Get some Sage, Mint and Lavender at the ready, as Hannah shares with us her own highly effective blend against the plague. She will also tell us how she became author of the 18th Century’s best-selling cookery book, The Art of Cookery made Plain & Easy, and invite you to share with her one of your family’s favourite recipes.
Hannah Glasse Saves the Nation – commissioned by Northumberland Archives with funding from the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage. Produced by November Club and Meerkat Films.
Your favourite recipes and the stories behind them can be shared with Northumberland Archives on our LEARN Submissions page. You can even attach photographs of your work!
After making this film we discovered a new twist to the stories about Hannah Glasse and her cookbook history. It appears that the book referred to as ‘Aunt Margaret Widdrington’s cookbook’ was not Aunt Margaret’s at all, though it was in her household collection given to the Archive. In fact, it was the work of a relative by marriage, one Bridget Atkinson of Temple Sowerby, Cumbria. The noted food historian, Ivan Day, identified Bridget’s handwriting while consulting the Allgood papers.
Activities
💡Why do you think there was a mix up about who wrote the cookbook?
💡Does Hannah’s kitchen in the film look similar to your kitchen at home?
💡 What kinds of equipment do you think Hannah would have had in her kitchen?
✏ Make a list of the equipment you have in your kitchen. Do you have any that you think Hannah may have also had?
💡 Where do you think Hannah would have bought her ingredients from? Do you think this is different to where you shop?
💡 Do you think Hannah’s recipe against the plague would have worked? Why?
✏Does your family have any natural remedies? Could you write them down as a recipe?
💡 Do you recognise the herbs and ingredients that Hannah mentions?
💡 What do you think Hannah’s kitchen might have smelled like? Do you think the kitchen would have been hot or cold?
🔍 What kinds of herbs and spices do you have in your kitchen? Can you find any that Hannah used?