Christmas recipes from Hutton Rudby, 1896

The Northern Weekly Gazette was a cheery weekly newspaper with editions published in Middlesbrough, Guisborough, South Bank, Stockton, Darlington and West Hartlepool.  Advertisements declared that

"The Northern Weekly Gazette is the most interesting and readable penny weekly paper in the North, and contains as much general reading as many shilling books"

It certainly was popular among Hutton Rudby families.  It only cost a penny and there was something in it for everybody – national and local news, local sports reports, household hints, recipes, jokes, serialised stories, pages for children, contributions welcomed and prizes to be won.

Mary Williams and her family were keen readers of the Gazette.  She was born in about 1856 in Hovingham and was married to a Welshman, Thomas Williams, who was coachman for the Blair family at Drumrauch Hall, their country house a little way outside Hutton Rudby.  Some time between the summer of 1895 (when their daughter Gladys was born) and the beginning of December 1896, the Williams family moved from Norton-on-Tees to one of the cottages by the entrance to the Hall on Belbrough Lane.  

Drumrauch Hall, O.S map revised 1911 
National Library of Scotland

These are two Christmas recipes sent in to the newspaper by Mrs Williams in 1896:

Northern Weekly Gazette, Saturday, December 5, 1896 

Christmas Mince Meat

Six nice apples, 2 lb currants, 1 lb Sultana raisins, 1 lb stoned raisins, 1½ lb moist sugar, ½ lb candied peel, 1 lb suet, 1 teaspoonful mixed spice, the rind of two lemons, the juice of one, 2 tablespoonfuls of orange marmalade, 1 teacupful of brandy; chop the apples and suet very fine, grate the lemons, mix all well together, press into a stone jar, cover air-tight; ready for use in a fortnight

A Good Family Christmas Pudding

1 lb breadcrumbs, ½ lb flour, 1 lb currants, 1lb Sultana raisins, 1 lb Muscatel raisins, 1 lb suet, 1 lb moist sugar, ½ lb mixed peel, 6 eggs well beaten, the rind and juice of a lemon, 2 oz powdered almonds, 1 teaspoonful of mixed spice, 1 teaspoonful salt, 1 teaspoonful ground ginger, 1 glass of brandy.  Mix all well together; boil for 8 hours.   

Mrs Williams, Drumrauck Cottage, Hutton Rudby, Yarm

Thomas and Mary spent the rest of their lives in Hutton Rudby.  They are buried in the churchyard there.

Tees Archaeology Dayschool on 'The History & Buildings of Stockton-on-Tees'

Tees Archaeology is holding a Dayschool - keynote speaker is broadcaster & author John Grundy - on the History & Buildings of Stockton on Saturday 3 November at ARC, Dovecote Street, Stockton.

Bookings are being taken at www.arconline.co.uk or visit Tees Archaeology's new website www.teesarchaeology.com

In fact, visit Tees Archaeology's website anyway, for news of its activities.

Their Projects pages include the Roman villa at Ingleby Barwick, the Anglo-Saxon pagan cemetery at Norton-on-Tees and the North East Yorkshire Mesolithic Project. And anybody who occasionally turns up up a flint in their garden or who likes to watch Time Team is definitely going to welcome their Flints Fact Sheet!