Beef, Plum Pudding, and Ale: Victorian Christmas Food and Gifts

There seems to be nothing more important to people at Christmas other than gifts and food (and maybe festive television), so I thought it would be interesting to look back at the food and gifts on offer to the poor and working class in Victorian Peterborough.

Peterborough Workhouse often saw its numbers swell around Christmas, primarily due to the cold weather, but also at the chance of a warm meal and a little festive cheer. The Christmas menu in the workhouse was always the same in the early Victorian era. Inmates were given beef, plum pudding, and ale; a pint for the adults and a half pint for the children. In some years reference is made to the addition of potatoes, but it is almost always to beef alone. Tobacco and occasionally pipes were also provided, particularly to the sick and elderly (for comfort, not for evil intentions). These festive offerings were provided ‘by subscription’ – charity by those who could afford it. The guardians refused to pay out for the extravagance and stated in no uncertain terms that such events should not be paid from the money allocated to them. There was no mention of any gifts offered.

Elsewhere in Peterborough during the Victorian period residents of the city almshouses received gifts of tea, fabric, and coals, as well as the occasional offer of beef and small amounts of money. In the city jail the inmates were also provided with beef and plum pudding, but notably, no ale, because drunken Christmas brawls were for the streets, not the jail.

Wealthy landowners such as the Fitzwilliams gave presents of beef, money, coals and even slips and stockings to their employees and their families (the slips and stockings were for the women, of course). For those with large estates this meant presents for hundreds of people (1200 for the Fitzwilliams).

These gifts were more than affordable by the richest in society, so the offer of Christmas gifts ‘by persons who are moving in the middling sphere in life’ was noted in the paper in 1847.[1] Two employers offered gifts to their employees, one of coal to all of his staff, and the other ‘above thirty loaves of bread, eighty pounds of mutton, and a quantity of sixpences’. The giving of beef dominates the Christmas stories in the papers, so it is refreshing to find other gifts offered and to be offered by those who cannot so easily afford it but valued their staff.

By the last quarter of the nineteenth century the scene in the workhouse had changed somewhat and there was a more celebratory feel (or at least a change in reporting). The traditional beef and ale had been partnered with Yorkshire puddings and the dining room had been ‘very prettily decorated with evergreens and winter flowers. Crosses, triangles and other devices were suspended on the walls, together with mottoes and Christmas texts.’ [2] Interestingly, exactly the same text appeared in the 1878 and 1885 report in a newspaper, with the exception of the word ‘crosses’, which shows both a continuation of tradition and poor journalism. I think we can also assume the mottoes on the walls were a little more ‘Joy to the world’ than ‘Live, Laugh, Yule Log.’

Local dignitaries (the Vergettes, Buckles etc) attended to help with carving and handing out their Christmas gifts. Many gifts were given to the inmates, these included: plum cake, tobacco, tea, sweets, money, chocolate, books, nuts, toys, oranges, a Christmas letter ‘from a lady with a loving heart’ to every resident (in both years), and a peep show(!). The inmates also had a visit from the band of the Northants Engineers who played music to the residents during the festive season. All the well wishers went home satisfied the residents had enjoyed a very pleasant day, but also with the knowledge that they had helped with the festivities, not just financially, but with their time too.

These examples show how traditions change and also the varying face of gift giving and charity. We still decorate our houses with evergreens and we still gift chocolate, books, and money (but beware the friend who gifts you a bag of oranges and a peep show!).

Merry Christmas and thanks for your support this year. I hope you enjoy your Christmas festivities, whether it’s eating roast beef and drinking ale, or eating chocolate in your new stockings.

[1] ‘Christmas Gifts’, Cambridge Independent Press, 2 January 1847, p.3.

[2] ‘Christmas at the Workhouse’, Peterborough Standard, 28 December 1878, p.5., ‘Christmas at the Workhouse’, Peterborough Express, 29 December 1885, p.3.

 Images by Robert Owen-Wahl and Clker-Free-Vector-Images via Pixabay