How Denby Dale invented the giant meat pie

Only in Yorkshire, perhaps, would an entire village set out its stall on its ability to bake the biggest and best meat pie in the world. The village in question is Denby Dale, between Huddersfield and Barnsley.
By David Behrens
Published 26th Oct 2020, 05:00 BST
The Denby Dale Pie, 1964The Denby Dale Pie, 1964
The Denby Dale Pie, 1964

These pictures capture a tradition that dates, reputedly, from 1788, when a pie was baked to celebrate the recovery of George III from the mental illness that was later dramatised by Alan Bennett as The Madness of King George.

The tradition stuck, and successive pies grew to such a size that they had to be baked in a bath-shaped dish which doubled as a village flower bed.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Denby Dale pies, originally of game but more lately meat and potato, are usually baked for special occasions, with the 2000 millennium recipe swallowing up 2.5 tons of beef and potatoes, 3.5 tons of pastry and 36 gallons of beer, in a 40ft-long tureen.

The 1988 pie makes its entrance.The 1988 pie makes its entrance.
The 1988 pie makes its entrance.

It lacked the surprise ingredient of the 1846 pie, conceived to mark the repeal of the Corn Laws which placed tariffs on food and grain imported into the country. That contained a calf, five sheep, 63 small birds, 14 rabbits, two partridges and one human – who fell into it when its collapse caused a riot.

A second pie never to be consumed was the one baked in 1887 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee. It was declared inedible and buried in a nearby field, to be replaced a week later by a so-called Resurrection Pie.

In 1964, to celebrate four Royal births, 30,000 portions of pie were served up, and the bicentennial 1988 pie fed an estimated 90,000 people.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A pie was last baked in 2012 and its history is chronicled in the Denby Dale Pie Hall, a shrine to meat and pastry, which earlier this year was saved from closure when locals rallied round to support it.

Three members of the committee responsible for the 1964 pie begin to clean a decade of grime and rust from the metal before it it treated to prevent further corrosion.Three members of the committee responsible for the 1964 pie begin to clean a decade of grime and rust from the metal before it it treated to prevent further corrosion.
Three members of the committee responsible for the 1964 pie begin to clean a decade of grime and rust from the metal before it it treated to prevent further corrosion.

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers. Click here to subscribe.

Related topics:YorkshireBarnsleyHuddersfieldYorkshire Post

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.