Camara Pubs With York Heritage and Magnetism

On March 21, 2010, In Food and Drink, Yorkshire History and Heritage, By brian

Legend had it that there were 365 pubs in York, one for every day of the year. Half the pubs of York have gone since the 1950′s and there have been some historic losses. We need to protect those with special interest interiors and ‘support our pub heritage’. I will drink all I can in helping this cause.

Pubs with Interiors of Historic Interest

Black Swan in Peaseholme Green is a Grade ll* listed building with medieval timber-frame. There has been sensitive remodelling of the interior in the 30′s and 70′s but the original domestic interior survives. The 17th century staircase, doorways, fireplace and oak panelling have created a pub with very distinctive character.

Blue Bell on Fossgate has a slightly gaudy red tiled exterior that is not the most welcoming. For those who venture inside however an Edwardian treat awaits. The rooms are wood-panelled and traditionally furnished throughout, with the bar room only having enough room for 3 or 4 tables. A side lobby has two etched doors accessing a tiny front bar room and a rear ‘former-smoke room’ that is too narrow for some corpulent American visitors. This room and the lobby both have hatch access to the bar.The Blue Bell is a Grade ll* listed building and I hope the pub chains leave the interior alone.

Royal Oak on Goodramgate is a small stylish town pub. There is documentation dating it back to the 15th century. The Royal Oak has both 18th and 19th century extensions to the back. It went through a major restoration project in 1934, a ‘Tudor Revamp’ according to Camra. Now with a gas fire rather than traditional logs it is still a cosy place to drink. Eating and your enjoyment thereof, depends on the landlord and cook at the time you visit.

The Swan on Bishopsgate, just outside York’s Bar Walls, was only the second pub to be designated a Tetleys Heritage Inn in the 1980′s. 30 years on and The Swan Inn has been nominated for “best real ale pub” in The Press Pub Awards 2009/10, and was Camra’s pub of the year. Probably enough said but the interior layout is one of only 3 surviving pubs witha genuine inter-war years layout within York.

York Arms beneath the shadow of the Minster is a homely little pub that escaped the open-plan movementr in the 1970′s. The site was a former Chapter coffee house but a licensed house was build on the site in 1838 and still has two main lounge areas, and a tiny snug at the front of the pub. It is a Samuel Smith pub so you will know it offers value for money in the beer pricing.

Lighthorseman was built in Fulford Road during Queen Victoria’s reign and survives as a multi-roomed public house of some style. There is a wealth of original Victorian features including the only original Victorian bar remaining in the city. Deservedly there is a grade 2 listing. With accommodation available you can check out its own web site.

I am sure I have not covered your favourite alehouse, boozer, hostelry, local, watering-hole or call it what you will. If my omission is unwarranted then I am happy to add further pubs to this page or better still visit them for myself. Please comment below.

Photo by SFB579 CC

Tagged with: beer

On Yer Bike to Farndale Daffodil Valley

On March 13, 2010, In Food and Drink, Yorkshire Dales, Yorkshire Trips and Places, By brian

Farndale, aka ‘Daffodil Valley’ by virtue of the ‘Lenten Lilies’ which carpet the valley floor in a sea of yellow each spring. The Daffodils, Narcissus pseudonarcissus, were probably brought to the valley and Douthwaitedale by 12th century Monks and got the old name Lenten Lily from the fact they normally bloom around Easter, a little later than most British Daffodils. If you are not worried by crowds then a weekend trip at the end of March or April will repay your perseverance. Because of the cold weather this year you may find a warmer and quieter time to visit will be mid-week mid-to late April.

Walking The Dove and Farndale

If you are not on your bike ‘Walking world’ has a range of interesting walks including Church houses in Farndale on this site. Wikipedia’s entry for Farndale must have been written by a southerner who dislikes moorland as ‘Farndale is surrounded by some of the most inhospitable moorland in England, and is sandwiched between Bransdale and Rosedale. …… Around the north of Farndale, is the track bed of the old Rosedale Ironstone Railway which forms part of two Long Distance Footpaths these being Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Walk and The Lyke Wake Walk’. Well they are right about walking so forgive and forget. There are many fine walks along the banks of the river Dove starting at the small hamlet of Low Mill where a nearby field is used to accommodate the hundreds of cars which arrive during the daffodil season.

Tea Rooms and Refreshments

Refreshments are available at the Daffy Caffy at High Mill and the Feversham Arms Inn at Church Houses. The “Daffy Caffy” cafe tearoom is situated on the well known daffodil walk in beautiful Farndale, North Yorkshire, England. The scenery and walking is quite magnificent, whether it be along the river or climbing up to Rudland Rigg on the North York Moors. In the hamlet of Church Houses, Farndale, the Feversham Arms ‘serves good food and beer for the passing walker’. Just up the road is St Mary’s Church a small moors village church built in 1831 and well worth a visit even when the Daffodils have gone.

Other Village Activities

Alt country bands, renown folk singers and even Yorkshire Countrywomens Associations use the Band Room in Farndale variously described as ‘England’s tiniest major venue,’ ‘The greatest small venue on Earth,’ and ‘a corrugated iron shed in the middle of nowhere.’ There is a big gig no 29th August 2010 the night before the 103rd Farndale Show staring Megafaun ( I will say that a bit louder). Built for the Farndale Silver Band in the 1920s this 100-capacity wooden building adds atmosphere to most performances if you can get a ticket.
Picking Daffodils is not an activity that can be pursued as Farndale is now a protected Nature Reserve. Leave the flowers for others to see and the seeds to reproduce naturally.

Tagged with: churches • tea • walking

Tea Rooms to Visit on the Yorkshire Tea Council Trail

On March 1, 2010, In Food and Drink, Our Yorkshire, Yorkshire Trips and Places, By brian

In 1919 Frederick Belmont opened his first Bettys Café Tea Rooms in the fashionable spa town of Harrogate. It seems like I was queuing from that date as the people snaked around the corner last weekend. There are six Bettys Café Tea Rooms to explore: the spa town of Harrogate has two branches one in the town centre and a second at the RHS garden at Harlow Carr. York has one in the square opposite St Helen’s and Little Bettys is just around the corner in Stonegate. You can also also find Bettys in the market towns of Northallerton and Ilkley.

The above logo from the Tea Guild has an Afternoon tea group that may interest those who like to pause in welcoming surroundings with a good cup of tea and a bite to eat. The Yorkshire locations include:

De Vere Oulton Hall – West Yorkshire

The George Hotel – Huddersfield

Swinton Park – North Yorkshire

Bagden Hall – West Yorkshire

Grinkle Park – North Yorkshire

Other Tea Council locations include Elizabeth Botham & Sons, plus Bullivant both of York and The Black Swan Hotel, Market Place, Helmsley. The Bridge Tea Rooms in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire has been named as the winner of The Tea Guild’s prestigious Top Tea Place 2009 Award but that is not the Bradford Yorkshire where I have still to discover a true tea room but see Shipley’s earlier story.

The UK Tea Council’s “incognito” Tea Guild inspectors have taken tea in tearooms and country and city hotels across Britain, to find the finest tea experience. The anonymous judges award points in fifteen different categories which include the variety and excellence of the teas offered, efficiency and knowledge of service, décor, hygiene and cleanliness, ambience, presentation skills and most importantly the choice and quality of teas served. That seems like a fine job to have I wonder how much you have to pay them to go eating and drinking Teas?

Just a note on the Tockwith Tea Party where Betty’s of Fat Rascal fame sought to stop Fat Betty’s Cheese Nibbles from being made and sold. I understand the Cheese nibbles won but crumbs what a fuss.

Tagged with: dayout • tea

Yorkshire’s Sweet Tooth

On February 21, 2010, In Food and Drink, Our Yorkshire, By brian

Liquorice

Pomfret is an early name for Pontefract and as most Yorkshire children know, Pontefract is the heart of Yorkshires liquorice making. Around the time of the Battle of Hastings, French monks arrived in Pontefract with liquorice plants for medicinal and stomach purposes and locals created a cottage industry that led to such treats as ‘Yorkshire Pennies’ ‘Catherine Wheels’, Pomfret cakes, Bootlaces and other sweetmeats made from chewy black liquorice.
Pomfret cakes or Pontefract cakes were first created when sugar was added to the liquorice stock and an image of the Norman castle stamped into the round black sweet that was created. The castle has a morbid history Richard II was imprisoned and probably murdered, in Pontefract Castle in 1400. In 1648 to March 1649 Oliver Cromwells New Model Army was engaged in the successful siege of Pontefract Castle that led to its ruination. ‘Pomfret, Pomfret! O thou bloody prison’ as Shakespeare put it in his play Richard III.

Fast forward to the 1840′s when a Sheffield business Bassett and Lodge started a confectionery business that eventually created ‘Liquorice Allsorts’. The Allsorts mix apocryphally was created by a clumsy salesman who spilt a tray of various liquorice creams and sweets in a pattern that appealed to the customer. In 1918 they started to manufacture jelly products called ‘Peace Babies’ which we all now know and love as Jelly Babies. In the 1920′s as a logo the company created “Bertie Bassett,” a human like figure made up of liquorice allsorts. On the strength of the liquorice products such as Ju-Jubes and the Allsorts, Bassett’s bought other brands that included Victory V Lozenges, Zubes, Sherbet Fountains and Beech Nut. I fondly remember the beech nut chewing gum machines which vended an extra packet every 3rd or 4th purchase, what fun it seemed to be getting something for nothing.
Mint based products from Bassett’s included Mint Imperials, Murray Mints and Clarnico Mint Creams.

Needlers started making boiled sweets in Hull in 1886. One of their key innovations was to start selling sweets in clear glass jars rather than the bottle-green glass that had been used previously. All sweets and chocolates were unwrapped and Needles were producing over 2000 tons a year by the early 1920′s but in 1928 they invested in a wrapping machine.
By the 1970′s the chocolate business was loosing money and unfortunately had to be closed but investment in the sugar based lines led to the introduction of the Sensation’ range of vacuum packed mints and fruit pastilles. Needlers bought Batgers Ltd the makers of Jersey Toffee and moved production to Hull.

Thorntons first Chocolate Kabin opened in Sheffield in 1911 aiming to be the best sweetshop in town. Easter and the production of special and named Easter eggs became an important part of business for Thorntons. Then special toffee was created in 1925 and production required larger premises in Penistone Road Sheffield. The chocolate business developed by focusing on quality and learning from contenetal manufacturers particularly in Holland and Belgium. The business floated on the stock market but unfortunately the business moved downmarket into Derbyshire. There is still likely to be a Thorntons Kabin near you (based on my post code I found 6 shops within 10 miles).

See an earlier report on Maxons boiled sweets. All this and still no mention of Rowntrees, Macintoshes, Terrys, Yorkshire Mixtures or even Farrah’s Original Harrogate Toffee. If you have a favourite Yorkshire sweet that I have missed send us a comment below.
Thanks to Maurice Baren ‘How it All Began in Yorkshire’ and The Oldest Sweet Shop in England at Pateley Bridge.

Tagged with: business • nostalgia

Otley You Are Not Drinking Enough

On February 4, 2010, In Food and Drink, Yorkshire Trips and Places, By brian

Is the economy so bad down in Otley that no one is drinking enough to keep the pubs viable. Always a great place to drink, Otley landlords must be having a hard time after the opening of Sainsbury’s and Netto’s new supermarket.
The Summercross is shut for good (or bad depending on how you look at it). Will the Woolpack and Yeoman ever reopen as pubs?
Is the new work just started on the Bowling Green going to see oit reopen as a J D Wetherspoons? At least the eyesore will be renovated by March I am told.

In the last couple of years there have been problems for other pubs in the town. It is great to see the Black Horse, Red Lion, Fleece and Cross Pipes back serving good ale. I hope their trading is ‘ale and hearty but that is down to us drinkers.

Otley needs more visitors to help boost the economy. It is a good base to explore the dales to day trip for lunch or just a drink in the numerous surviving pubs. see pubs in Otley list. It is even better if you are looking for a night on the town in a traditional, pub rich, market town so get to Otley before the next closure.

Tagged with: beer

Sauce Sourced with Relish and a Joke

On January 21, 2010, In Food and Drink, Wit and Humour, By brian

You are unlikely to find this saucy little number in your local Chippy but you might overhear these old sores being repeated. ‘I have told you a million times not to exaggerate.’

So I went down the local supermarket, I said “I want to make a complaint, this vinegar’s got lumps in it”, The check out girl said “Those are pickled onions”.

The fast food shop at Windscale (you may call it Sellafield now but the name hints at how old my jokes are) is called “The Fission Chips.” It is called fast food so you eat it fast or otherwise you might taste it.

I’m in great mood tonight because the other day I entered a competition and I won, The prize, a year’s supply of Marmite……… one jar.
A friend got some vinegar in his ear, now he suffers from pickled hearing.

Another deaf friend had an ear transplant from a pig now all he can hear is crackling.

If a White Russian ruler is called t’Tzar and his wife is t’Tarina are his children t’Tardines?

Mummy tomato went for a walk with the baby tomatoes consistently lagging behind, so she turned round and shouted ‘Ketch-up’.

Being overweight is something that just sort of snacks up on you.

A friend was standing in line at a fast-food restaurant, waiting to place an order. There was a big sign posted that read, “No notes larger than 10 Euros will be accepted.” underneath was written “Believe me, if I HAD a note larger than 10 Euros I wouldn’t be eating here.”

Interlude for Afternoon Tea in Shipley

On December 13, 2009, In Food and Drink, Yorkshire Business and Money, By brian

King George V would recognise many of the items on display at Interlude the Cafe Society tearoom ‘to be seen in’ when visiting Shipley. Between Elsie Russell’s florists and The Samaritan charity shop is an exceptionally well furbished cafe with great food and an environment to savor. High Tea comes a bit more expensive than Afternoon Tea but with boiled egg with toast soldiers for less than £2 the prices are reasonable and the choice just right.

All the tables are similar to the one shown with old china crockery and a collection of old art books, comics and magazines to peruse. When you wish to order you have your own little bell to ring and there are numerous other touches to take in whilst you drink your Yorkshire tea.

Upstairs at this Westgate Cafe is a boutique of vintage clothes, although my daughter thought they were more secondhand than 1920′s. Still the sound of syncopated rhythms and an occasional Charleston wafted gently through the rooms. The emporium at the front of the cafe sells cakes and treats for you to take home if you wish and this shows the enterprise a business needs these days to survive. Support your local shops and visit Interlude when in Shipley. More about Interludes history can be found on there own web site.

Tagged with: nostalgia • tea • venues

Rhubarb Triangle

On December 7, 2009, In Food and Drink, Our Yorkshire, By brian

Rhubarb flower

Your rhubarb will flower like this if you don’t eat it first! Ornamental varieties of rhubarb are not grown in the ‘Rhubarb Triangle’ as rhubarb is a serious crop grown under strict conditions to produce thin pink stems from February to make into delicious pies.

The rhubarb triangle is not a gardening device but a geographic location between Wakefield, Morley, Dewsbury and Rothwell where the majority of the worlds supply of forced rhubarb is grown. The rhubarb grows in forcing sheds while it is still winter and is ready before your garden crop grown outdoors. You can force your own garden rhubarb by covering the crown of the plant with a large pot filled with loose straw to keep it dark and warm.

There is a book of Walks in the Rhubarb Triangle ‘It includes delicious recipes from Barbara Bell for rhubarb bread and butter pudding, rhubarb cheesecake and rhubarb triangles, which are a type of flapjack.’ There is even a rhubarb festival each February.

From them apples in Saltaire ‘The classic culinary use for rhubarb is in a crumble. Gently stew rhubarb chopped into two or three centimetre chunks with a splash of water or orange juice, with sugar added to taste. The cutting acidity of the rhubarb must be preserved, so be careful with the sugar. Top with a simple crumble, made with 160g of plain flour cut with about 110g of diced butter, with maybe 25g of sugar added. Cook in a hot oven for twenty-five minutes and eat hot, maybe with cream or yoghurt.’

Rhubarb Recipes have a range of different recipes including Rhubarb Ginger Smoothie

75g cooked rhubarb, retain some for garnish
40g stem ginger (chopped), 1 tablespoon ginger syrup
50g low-fat vanilla ice cream, ice cubes to serve
Place the cooked rhubarb, ginger, syrup and ice cream in the blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass over ice and garnish with extra rhubarb.

Yorkshire is still the place to grow, buy and cook your rhubarb so give your taste buds a treat.

Yorkshire Rarebit and Fishfinger Butties

On October 18, 2009, In Food and Drink, Our Yorkshire, By brian

Karuna’s Posh Fish Finger Buttie

1) Very lightly spread 2 slices of white bread with butter or spread.
2) Top one slice with 4 grilled Birds Eye Fish Fingers (only the best will do)
3) Add 2 thin slices of Emmenthal cheese
4) Dip in Daddies sauce or Tomato Ketchup

5) For a southern version ‘Drizzle with Tartar sauce, pop on a few sprigs of rocket’, then top with the second slice of bread.

6) Admire your work of art, then scoff with enthusiasm
Enjoy!

Yorkshire Rarebit for two or one big appetite

25 gram of butter
25 gram of plain flour
125ml of milk
125ml of black sheep ale or an ale of your choice
125 gram of mature Wensleydale cheese
1 tsp. English mustard powder
few drops of Yorkshire Relish
1 egg
4 Slices of bread

Melt butter and add flour, make into a roux, add milk and ale
Stir over heat until it becomes a stiff sauce, add the mustard powder and the Relish stir
Then add the cheese, when all melted add the egg and stir.
Toast the bread, top each slice with some of the cheese mixture and brown under the grill serve at the end of a meal.
Eke it out with a couple of bacon rashers on the top.

Yorkshire’s Own Delicious Kitchen

On September 27, 2009, In Books & Literary Work, Food and Drink, By brian

Deliciously Yorkshire is not a bad name for the quango that helps to promote the Yorkshire Food Industry. At the Great Yorkshire Show and other events and visitor attractions they often have a stand or a series of stalls for the many niche food producers they support. Now ‘Deliciously Yorkshire’ have produced there own book highlighting more than 470 fabulous producers, restaurants, hotels, cafes and places to visit spread right across the region.
“Buying British, buying locally and buying directly from farmers can all help make a difference in terms of improving our economy, sustainability and food security.” Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York”. “Recipes from selected companies are listed in full detail, and there are inserts from some of Yorkshires most famous Chefs, it gives you a sense of how proud the people of Yorkshire are about their region! ” T. Littlewood on Amazon.

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Grubs up – so I am off for my Sunday dinner ‘roast beef and guess what.’

Yorkshire – God’s Own County

A tribute to Yorkshire Heritage