Civic Society Book Lifts Lid On Regions Foods, Feasts and Festivals

Foods, Feasts and Festivals: Beverley and the East Riding, is the latest book from Beverley Civic Society available to buy.

The three sections of its title describe how the great family of the Percy earls of Northumberland, and their household of 160 men, ate in the early years of the Tudor kings, and where the food and drink came from, and even how much it cost.

Every day’s menu was recorded, what was eaten when from the earl in his castle to the children in the nursery and the stablemen in the yards.

Over the Twelve Days of Christmas, the food was even grander. Feast followed feast with elaborate ceremonies, music and plays.

Beverley was a source of food and wine for the Percies and other great families, and they visited to watch the medieval mystery plays and the great religious processions.

A spokesperson for the Beverley Civic Society said;

“This book uses material from the great houses of the Percy earls of Northumberland under the Tudors, to show what they ate day by day, where the food came from and the rituals with which it was served.” 

“The Percies had many connections with Beverley, and came into town for religious and social occasions and to watch the Beverley mystery plays, destroyed by Henry VIII.” 

“What is known of the plays, who played them and who watched them, is described in this book of 76 pages and 81 illustrations.”

The new book also features a wealth of information about Leconfield and the Wrestle castles under the Tudors.

Priced at just £10, the latest book by the Beverley Civic Society can be purchased at the Beverley Guildhall and Tourist Information Centre.