DOWNSIDE ABBEY PRESS RELEASE

Wednesday 1st March 2017 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MONKS TO PUBLISH EARLY CURRY RECIPE An early recipe book, from 1793, was discovered by an archivist working in Downside Abbey Library last year; it is to be published by popular demand.

 The monks of Downside Abbey have commissioned the release of the book, Downside Abbey Presents: Bristol Georgian Cookbook, which chronicles day-to- day life at Begbrook House, an historic home near Bristol. The book includes recipes as diverse as Calves Head Turtle Fashion, Chicken Curry and Fricassee of Pigs Feet and Ears; there is also a controversial recipe for the historic Sally Lunn bun.

 The collection of recipes provides an insight into the Slave ‘trade triangle’ that passed through the Bristol port at the time, and led to the use of sugar and spices within the region. Another area of interest is that of the role of literacy, given that the book is likely to have been written by literate women, a rarity in the years around 1793.

 The book was donated, as part of a private collection from the Parsons family, to Downside Abbey in 1887. The family had originally acquired the recipe book when they took ownership of Begbrook House during the early 19th century, however, the house was burnt by suffragettes in 1913. The family later moved, with the recipe book, to Little Malvern, and would have been resident in the parish at the same time as Edward Elgar…whether he tried the infamous curry is yet unknown!

“We monks were delighted when we discovered this Georgian cookery book in our achive. We are longing for the opportunity to try the Fricasee Lobsters that Dom Christopher, with his background in Mediterranean cuisine, can now prepare for us; there is, however, less enthusiasm for Spinage Stewed Like Sambo!” Dom Leo Maidlow Davis, Administrator of Downside Abbey

 Volunteers have been working in Downside Abbey Library as part of a 3 year project to establish public access to the collections, formerly for the private use of the Benedictine monks. The discovery is one of many unusual items uncovered in a drive

to digitise and organise the catalogue.

 The book will be released on Wednesday 5th April, and pre-orders can be booked online www.downside.co.uk and at the Downside Abbey Visitor Centre.

 Treasures within the Library include Cardinal John Henry Newman's personal copy of the Bible, early Bibles printed in English, and beautifully illustrated 14th-century Book of Hours and other medieval manuscripts, rare theological texts, and unusual donated collections. These include books on sundials, birds, archaeology and local history, along with the archives of the English Benedictine Congregation dating back to the 17th century.

“First and foremost we are a Monastic library and our specialisms are in history, theology and philosophy….but yes we do have unusual material such as cookbooks which are just as useful to a monk's education as Thomas Aquinas." Dr Simon Johnson, Keeper of Downside Abbey Archives and Library

 Members of the public can access the collections by appointment: www.downside.co.uk | [email protected] | 01761 235323

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NOTES TO EDITORS

Press contact Claire Wass: [email protected] / 01761 235151 for interview requests and press copies.

Press launch - Tuesday 28th March, 6pm at No.1 Royal Crescent, Bath. Press RSVPs to [email protected]

Release date: 5th April 2017 RRP: £15.00 ISBN: 978-1-898-663-56-0

Twitter: @DownsideKeeper #GeorgianCookbook

In January 2016, Fr Christopher Calascione, a Downside monk, created a stir when he prepared the Sally Lunn bun on TV… a media frenzy ensued. Related news article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-35281524

About Downside Abbey www.downside.co.uk

Downside Abbey is a Benedictine on the Mendip Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty 12 miles south of Bath. It is home to a community of Benedictine monks who have been based in for over 200 years. Downside Abbey Church is dedicated to Saint Gregory the Great, and it is a Minor Basilica; it is also the largest of the Neo-Gothic churches built in this country after the Reformation, and was described by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as "the most splendid demonstration of the renaissance of Roman Catholicism in England. If ever there was an excuse for building in period forms in the twentieth century, it is here".