Medieval London

In the Middle Ages, workers and townspeople organised themselves into fraternities, mysteries and guilds. Some were religious, such as Parish Guilds, while others were engaged in particular trades, crafts or occupations. In the City of London separate guilds were formed to protect, control and manage the trade.

The first mention of Cooks in London is in Fitz Stephen’s (Clerk to Thomas A. Beckett) ‘Description of London’ of 1170. He thought the cook shops on the banks of the River Thames as the acme of civilisation, ‘at any time of the day or night, any number could be fed to suit all palates and all purses.’ The cook shops later moved to Eastcheap and Bread Street.

Few of today’s diners would enjoy medieval cookery. Meat was chopped or ground, seasoned and coloured beyond recognition. This was partly due to the fact that salted and over kept meat needed disguising, and partly because Cooks, like most specialists, made an elaborate mystery of their art.

The first records of Cooks can be found in the Guildhall Library. Thirty-six admissions are recorded between 1309 and 1313. At the time, there were guilds of Cooks, Pastlers (makers of pasties) and Piebakers. By the time the first charter was granted to the Cooks’ Company in 1482, an amalgamation of these guilds had taken place.

During the Christmas festivities of 1246, Henry III’s court ate 5,000 chickens, 1,100 partridges, hares and rabbits, 10,000 eels, 36 swans, 54 peacocks and 90 boars.

To get a taste of medieval cooking and modern versions of the recipes try a recipe for Wardens in Conserve or Stew Stekes of Mutton.

Illustrations by Chihiro Mizuta taken from Margaret Parker’s Cookery Book.