Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Pontefract cake
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
==History== The exact origins of liquorice growing in England remain uncertain. However, by the 16th century there is record of the activity, possibly via monastic gardens and as a garden crop for the gentry. During the 17th century it was recorded as being grown in areas with alluvial soil overlying magnesian limestone such as in Surrey, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire. [[William Camden|Camden]]'s ''[[William Camden#Britannia|Britannia]]'' of 1607 noted the crop in [[Worksop]] and Pontefract.<ref name=chartres>{{cite book| first=John |last=Chartres |author-link=John Chartres|chapter=A special crop and its markets in the 18th century: the case of Pontefract's Liquorice |title= People, Landscape and Alternative Agriculture Essays for Joan Thirsk|editor-first= R. W. |editor-last=Hoyle |series=The Agricultural History Review Supplement, Series 3|date=2004|isbn=0 903269-03-1|page= 116}}</ref> By 1780 liquorice growing was concentrated almost wholly in Pontefract and in Surrey, around [[Godalming]]. In Pontefract the growing of liquorice was done on plots of land behind people's houses. In a map of the 1648 [[Siege of Pontefract]] (reproduced by Chartres<ref name=chartres />) the liquorice is indicated as being grown in "garths" either side of Micklegate, the street which runs between Pontefract's Market Place and the castle. In the 18th century liquorice was used as a medicine both for humans and for horses. The Pontefract cake "was almost certainly a black cake, the portable lozenge used to make 'liquorish water', stamped with the castle lodge emblem of Pontefract to signify quality. This trade mark had been employed on Pontefract cakes since 1612, when the initials 'GS' were used, and are thought to be those of Sir [[Sir George Savile, 1st Baronet|George Savile]], major local landowner; and a second die-stamp from 1720."<ref>Chartres 2004, p. 118.</ref> It was only in the 19th century that it was used extensively for confectionery. Of the merchants in the 18th century, [[apothecary]] chemist [[George Dunhill]] (later bought by German confectioner [[Haribo]]) was the most important. In 1760, Dunhill added sugar to the medicinal liquorice;<ref>{{cite web |last1=MacEacheran |first1=Mike |title=The strange story of Britain's oldest sweet |url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20190710-the-strange-story-of-britains-oldest-sweet |website=BBC Travel |accessdate=15 July 2019 |date=11 July 2019}}</ref> he was also a grower of liquorice.<ref>Chartres 2004, p. 124 Table 1.</ref> It was not until 1810, that [[Ewbanks Liquorice|Firth Confectioners]] (eventually known as Ewbanks) joined Dunhill in producing sweet liquorice.<ref>{{cite book|title=The History of Sweets|last=Chrystal|first=Paul|date=2021|isbn=9781526778888|pages=78β79|publisher=Pen & Sword Books }}</ref> With the growth of Pontefract cakes as confectionery the demand for liquorice outstripped the capacity of Pontefract growers to supply. By the late 19th century the 12 firms producing liquorice confectionery relied mainly on extract imported largely from Turkey.<ref>Chartres 2004, p. 132.</ref>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)