Now! Then! Pudsey celebrates repeal of the Corn Laws with a ca. 1725 kg free-trade plum pudding

31 July 1846: Pudsey celebrates repeal of the Corn Laws with a ca. 1725 kg free-trade plum pudding

A copy of William Joseph Booer’s 3 feet by 2 stained glass painted for William Dibb Scales in the panel of the door of the billiard room at Grove House, Pudsey, which he bought in 1878: “In Pudsey Town where it was made, / In commemoration of Free Trade, / Five hundred people I do declare / Dined of this monstrous pudding rare.” (Booer 1887).

Simeon Rayner. 1887. The History and Antiquities of Pudsey. Ed. William Smith. London: Longmans, Green and Co. Get it:

Excerpt

The puddings were craned out of the huge copper and placed upon a wherry, lent by Mr W. Wood, stone merchant. Here the steaming monster sat in triumph, the smaller puddings around it, the whole forming a solid and substantial evidence of the material idea meant to be conveyed by the recent act of the legislature, and the benefits it was believed the people would reap. A procession was formed, headed by Mr J.A. Hinings and Mr Samuel Musgrave on horseback, and four grey horses were yoked to the wherry containing the puddings, the driver of which, James Wilson, watchman at the Priestley Mill, but who had previously been a sailor, exhibited no small degree of pride in the part he played. Hundreds of persons joined the procession, and thousands of others lined the streets, the liveliest interest being shown – even beyond the borders of the town, for visitors from far and wide came to see the “Pudsey big pudding.” Afterwards the procession returned to Crawshaw Mill, where, in the adjoining field, tables were arranged in the form of a large military square, the wherry with its toothsome freight being placed in the centre. Tickets were sold at a shilling each to those who were desirous of dining off the extraordinary pudding, but each guest had to provide his own plate and knife and fork or spoon. Hundreds of hungry onlookers sat on the walls surrounding the field, and once at least these made an ugly rush to get to the tables, but they were driven back and kept at bay by the vigilance of Messrs Hinings and Musgrave, who, on horseback, kept up an incessant patrol of the ground. The pudding was literally dug out by Mr W. Hinings, senior, who was armed with a small spade for the purpose. That the dish was of an excellent nature is proved by the fact that some of the guests sent up their plates three or four times! But there are limits to everything – even the congenial occupation of eating plum pudding with rum sauce accompaniment must come to an end, and after the last of the guests who had paid their shillings had been served, there was still some of the pudding left, and the aforesaid hungry onlookers and others then had a turn, the result being that the last of the “big pudding” was soon safely tucked away, and so ended a remarkable incident in the history of Pudsey.

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To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.
Abbreviations:

ER: East Riding
GM: Greater Manchester
NR: North Riding
NY: North Yorkshire
SY: South Yorkshire
WR: West Riding
WY: West Yorkshire

Comment

The estimated weight is by taking the 20 stones of flour quoted and scaling up from recipes like this.

The story was contributed by John Middlebrook of Pudsey, says the author. Have Grove House and the billiard room glass survived?

Israel Roberts on the repeal of the Corn Laws, which had protected landowners’ interests by levying taxes on imported wheat, and thus took food beyond the reach of the starving Irish (the Famine began in 1845) and the frequently underfed English:

Many attempts were made by governments of the day to meet the case by proposing a lower range of duties, and the late Robert Peel got himself into great disgrace by what was called his “sliding-scale measure.” For months Sir Robert was severely handled, and I remember in Farsley he was paraded in effigy through Farsley and Stanningley and Beckbottom accompanied by great crowds of people and a band of music, and was finally set on fire and burned on a vacant piece of ground opposite the Fleece Inn, Farsley…

The views of Cobden and Bright steadily won their way until dukes and others high up in the councils of the nation became converts and, let it be said to the eternal credit of the late Sir Robert Peel, Bart., that when he saw that the thing was right he dared to break away from his great party and himself brought in a bill which settled those obnoxious Corn Laws forever. The statues erected to the memory of this great man throughout the nation speak for themselves.

… At Farsley on a given day during the summer a great banquet was held in Johnny Busfield’s close near the back lane, and all the mills were stopped and the work people were admitted to the feast at a very low price, and the whole place was in full gala form with bands of music, and the women had tea parties and exuberant rejoicing was the order of the day.
(Roberts 2000)

I assume, probably wrongly, that the statues of Peel and Wellington in Hyde Park, Leeds are due to their role getting rid of the Corn Laws.

See the report in Leeds Mercury, Aug. 8, 1846, p.1.

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Original

Whenever any great political question has arisen, an expression of feeling has generally been given by the politicians of Pudsey. In proof of this, I need only refer to the newspaper accounts of the public meetings and lectures, held at various times, for the discussion of political questions.

During the Corn Law agitation, Pudsey was most enthusiastic in its demonstrations in favour of a repeal of the obnoxious impost, and during several years meetings were held and lectures given, until the question was finally settled.

The year 1846 will always be memorable in British history as the time when the Corn Laws were repealed. All over the country, but most particularly in the manufacturing districts, there were demonstrations of rejoicing, but none of these enthusiastic manifestations of the public feeling were more characteristic or racy of the soil than that which took place at Pudsey. At Leeds the news of the passing of the measure in the House of Lords repealing the Corn Laws, after considerable agitation, was received with many signs of public rejoicing. But at Pudsey an original and typical mode of celebrating the important event was adopted. A number of Free Traders had formed themselves into what was called “The Little Committee,” which met at the house of Mr. John Baker, the rate-collector, to devise means to celebrate the great event. Amongst those forming the committee and the promoters of the demonstration were Messrs. W. Huggan, W. Hinings, senr., J.A. Hinings, John Emsley (now of America), W. Musgrave, S. Musgrave, W.D. Scales, G. Hinings, R. Gaunt, J.E. Hinings, W.R. Hinings, John Boocock, Jas. Halliday, John Baker, Hy. Wilcock, Cleo. Myers, Jno. Haigh, Jas. Hargreaves, Geo. Walton, Edmund Dufton, and W. Wood.

The outcome of the deliberations of “The Little Committee” was the determination to provide a monster plum pudding – such a pudding as the world had never seen before. We have heard it said it was the suggestion of Mr. J.A. Hinings, but whoever conceived the idea it proved a big success, and helped to make more widely known a place that had already achieved great distinction amongst its neighbours. The pudding was composed of twenty stones of flour, with suet, fruit, etc., in proportion. The ingredients were divided amongst twenty housewives, who each mixed her share into the requisite consistency, ready for the final blending. Leave was obtained of the Crawshaw Mill Co. to boil the monster pudding in one of the dye-pans of the “Leadhus.” The pan having been duly scoured, it was filled with water from the spring. The dames then brought their twenty “bowls” containing the mixed flour, fruit and suet, and these were tipped into a large and strong new canvas “poke” — specially made for the purpose — and by means of a windlass that had been fixed over the pan the “weighty matter” was hoisted into the vessel. For three days and nights the pudding was kept boiling, along with half a dozen smaller ones to keep it company. On the 31st July, 1846, the puddings were craned out of the huge copper, and placed upon a wherry, lent by Mr. W. Wood, stone merchant. Here the steaming monster sat in triumph, the smaller puddings being around it, the whole forming a solid and substantial evidence of the material idea meant to be conveyed by the recent Act of the Legislature, and the benefits it was believed the people would reap thereby. A procession was formed, headed by Mr. J.A. Hinings and Mr. Saml. Musgrave, on horseback, and four grey horses were yoked to the wherry containing the puddings, the driver of which, James Wilson, watchman at the Priestley Mill at the time, but who had previously been a sailor, exhibited no small degree of pride in the part he played in the memorable event of that day. Hundreds of persons joined the procession, and thousands of others lined the streets, the liveliest interest being shown in the demonstration — even beyond the borders of the town, for visitors from far and wide having heard of the “stir” came to see the “Pudsey big pudding.”

Afterwards the procession returned to Crawshaw Mill, where, in the adjoining field, tables were arranged in the form of a large military square, the wherry with its toothsome freight being placed in the centre. Tickets were sold at a shilling each to those who were desirous of dining off the extraordinary pudding, but each guest had to provide his own plate, and knife and fork or spoon. Hundreds of hungry onlookers sat on the walls surrounding the field, and once at least these made an ugly rush to get to the tables, but they were driven back and kept at bay by the vigilance of Messrs. J. A. Hinings and Saml. Musgrave, who, on horseback, kept up an incessant patrol of the ground. The pudding was literally dug out by Mr. W. Hinings, senr., who was armed with a small spade for the purpose. That the dish was of an excellent nature is proved by the fact that some of the guests “sent up their plates” three or four times! But there are limits to everything – even the congenial occupation of eating plum pudding with rum sauce accompaniment must come to an end, and after the last of the guests who had paid their shillings had been served, there was still some of the pudding left, and the aforesaid hungry onlookers and others then had a turn, the result being that the last of the “Big Pudding” was soon safely tucked away, and so ended a remarkable incident in the history of Pudsey.

Addresses were given, Messrs. G. Hinings, John Emsley (now of Philadelphia, U.S.A.), and one or two others, haranguing the crowd upon the great and glorious event that had been achieved for the masses of the people in the repeal of the Corn Laws, in a manner that would have delighted Ebenezer Elliott himself. Nor were the women who had assisted in making the pudding, etc., forgotten, for, on the following day, they sat down to a rum and tea party, of such a substantial character that it is still remembered by such as survive, in the most lively manner.

1052 words.