Recipes serve taste of stately past

Now a modern twist has been given to the household manuscript of Bramham Park mistress Harriet Fox Lane, who inherited the West Yorkshire estate in 1731, with the launch of a new book in aid of a neighbouring children’s hospice.

The York Food History Group began studying the document, which is held by the West Yorkshire Archive Service, in 2006 and has since cooked many of its recipes, which would have been used by her staff.

The manuscript is typical of the period, when the number of published books on cookery, household management and gardening was growing to meet the demands of an increasingly literate and prosperous population.

The recipes it contains, many of them shared by Lady Bingley’s friends, family and acquaintances when they came to visit, paint a picture of a privileged life that revolved around food and entertaining.

Kathleen Shouksmith, one of around 10 women who make up the food group, said: “She was related to a lot of the aristocracy in Britain and a lot of them contributed recipes.

“It tells you they enjoyed very good food and a very wide variety of different dishes.”

The recipes – then commonly known as receipts – include mutton dishes, potted meat, bread and cheese, which sit alongside traditional remedies for everything from a cold to a mad dog’s bite and even a facial treatment using snails.

“Those aren’t to be tried today but some are very amusing,” said Mrs Shouksmith.

The new book, Extrordinary Good [sic], includes a selection of Lady Bingley’s recipes, many of which are recommended for the modern palate, alongside others better left to history, which are included to give a flavour of the original manuscript.

Her portrait, taken from a painting hanging at Bramham, features on the cover of the new publication, which was funded in part by a grant from the Yorkshire Philosophical Society .

Lady Bingley was the daughter of the estate’s founder Robert Benson, the first Lord Bingley, and Lady Elizabeth Finch.

Her father was ennobled in 1713 as a result of a political career that saw him rise from MP for York in 1705 to Commissioner of the Treasury in 1710 and later Lord Treasurer to Queen Anne and Ambassador to Spain.

She inherited Bramham when he died in 1731, the same year she married George Fox, who added Lane to his surname when he inherited his uncle, Lord Lanesborough’s Irish estates.

The couple’s only son, Robert, died before them in 1768 and the estate passed to her illegitimate half-sister Mary Goodricke in 1773 and later to their nephew, James Fox Lane, who turned the family name around to Lane Fox.

Today it is in the hands of Nick Lane Fox and his wife Rachel, who are the 10th generation of the family to be its custodians.

Barbara Chesmore, another member of the food group, said: “We have been most grateful for the support of the present Lane Fox family of Bramham Park, the West Yorkshire Archive Service and the Yorkshire Philosophical Society.”

Proceeds from the sale of the book will go to Martin House Children’s Hospice, which is based near the estate at Boston Spa.

Alison Wragg, Martin House says “This is a fascinating read and will be of interest to local historians as well as foodies.

“As Martin House and Bramham Park are close neighbours we are delighted that the York Food Group has chosen the hospice to benefit from the proceeds of this unique publication.”

The group will decide on its next project when it meets again in September.

Books, priced at £5, can be bought from Martin House charity shops in Boston Spa and Selby or ordered by sending a cheque for £6.70, which includes postage and packaging, to: The York Food History Group, Red Roof, Lords Moor Lane, Strensall, York, Y032 5ZF.