1 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:16,899 JAMES GRASBY: Hello and welcome to the National Trust podcast. 2 00:00:16,899 --> 00:00:20,180 In this mini episode get ready to transport yourself back to 3 00:00:20,190 --> 00:00:24,059 the 18th century with your guides, Gwen Irving and Alex 4 00:00:24,069 --> 00:00:27,700 Morgan at Wordsworth House and Garden. 5 00:00:38,639 --> 00:00:42,080 ALEX MORGAN: If you come in as a visitor, you can walk into this 6 00:00:42,090 --> 00:00:46,069 house, you can feel like you're actually stepping back into the 7 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:47,299 1770s. 8 00:00:49,459 --> 00:00:51,919 I'm Alex Morgan and I'm the interpretation and 9 00:00:51,930 --> 00:00:55,279 communications manager here at Wordsworth House and Garden, the 10 00:00:55,290 --> 00:00:58,509 birthplace and childhood home of William and Dorothy Wordsworth. 11 00:01:02,779 --> 00:01:07,110 In a lot of rooms, you can touch things. You will see real food 12 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:11,949 on the tables, not fake food. You will see clothes that might 13 00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:14,489 have belonged to the Wordsworth's lying around, the 14 00:01:14,500 --> 00:01:17,269 books left open, the toys left lying around. 15 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:20,519 So hopefully, what you get is a feeling that the Wordsworth are 16 00:01:20,529 --> 00:01:22,550 just not very far away. 17 00:01:22,559 --> 00:01:25,980 They've just wandered out of the room, but if you go into the 18 00:01:25,989 --> 00:01:27,309 next room, you might meet them. 19 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:30,120 So let's go through to the kitchen, which really was, I 20 00:01:30,129 --> 00:01:33,629 think the heart of the home and we'll see what we can see in 21 00:01:33,639 --> 00:01:33,940 there. 22 00:01:39,569 --> 00:01:42,750 JAMES GRASBY: We've got a cook, preparing something at this huge 23 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:44,430 range. Oh, my goodness! Oh! 24 00:01:48,389 --> 00:01:50,650 Forgive me, I thought you were a mannequin. 25 00:01:50,860 --> 00:01:53,260 GWEN IRVING: It happens a lot. It happens a lot. 26 00:01:53,269 --> 00:01:56,370 Usually if we're leaning over the fire cooking, somebody comes 27 00:01:56,379 --> 00:01:59,699 in and you often don't hear them because you're concentrating. 28 00:01:59,709 --> 00:02:04,040 We just get on with what we're doing. We do our cooking. 29 00:02:04,050 --> 00:02:06,629 If people happen to come in when we're doing it, then, that's 30 00:02:06,639 --> 00:02:07,150 lovely. 31 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:10,779 They see the ingredients, they see the recipes we're using. 32 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:14,479 They see us burning things! Well, me anyway, usually! 33 00:02:14,479 --> 00:02:17,179 And it's more informal. We're trying to give people an 34 00:02:17,190 --> 00:02:18,740 experience. 35 00:02:18,750 --> 00:02:22,538 JAMES GRASBY: Is your name, Amy, the cook? 36 00:02:22,538 --> 00:02:22,614 GWEN IRVING: Well- 37 00:02:22,614 --> 00:02:24,453 JAMES GRASBY: Who was the cook in Wordsworth's time? [ 38 00:02:24,453 --> 00:02:27,026 Cross-talk] the maid of all work. [ 39 00:02:27,026 --> 00:02:28,130 GWEN IRVING: Cross-talk] The Wordworth's were only middle 40 00:02:28,139 --> 00:02:31,270 class, middling sorts. So they couldn't afford to have a 41 00:02:31,279 --> 00:02:34,089 housekeeper and a cook and a maid and everything. 42 00:02:34,119 --> 00:02:38,214 So they had a maid of all work and that title described exactly 43 00:02:38,225 --> 00:02:41,395 what she had to do everything, cooking, cleaning, helping with 44 00:02:41,404 --> 00:02:44,815 the laundry. Looking after the children, 16 to 18 hour day. 45 00:02:44,815 --> 00:02:47,134 JAMES GRASBY: My goodness I bet! Now look, what sort of things 46 00:02:47,145 --> 00:02:48,735 would have been cooked here? 47 00:02:48,744 --> 00:02:52,425 GWEN IRVING: We do a very nice beetroot pancake which some 48 00:02:52,434 --> 00:02:54,835 people turn their nose up at when we first mentioned it. But 49 00:02:54,845 --> 00:03:00,535 when we say that it has in it, cream and nutmeg and brandy, 50 00:03:00,929 --> 00:03:03,259 then they tend to think it sounds rather nice. 51 00:03:03,259 --> 00:03:05,899 JAMES GRASBY: Is that something Wordsworth would have had? 52 00:03:05,899 --> 00:03:09,639 GWEN IRVING: All our recipes are from 18th century cookery books. 53 00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:11,350 JAMES GRASBY: What was the staple diet? 54 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:15,550 GWEN IRVING: One of the staple things that we had was clap 55 00:03:15,559 --> 00:03:19,699 bread. It's made with oatmeal. This is where you grind the 56 00:03:19,710 --> 00:03:20,529 oatmeal. 57 00:03:26,660 --> 00:03:29,300 This is where we get the expression, the daily grind. 58 00:03:29,309 --> 00:03:32,720 And when you've made your dough, you obviously pull a piece off 59 00:03:32,729 --> 00:03:36,639 it, flatten it on a floured board to start with in the 60 00:03:36,649 --> 00:03:39,080 normal way, perhaps with a rolling pin, etc. 61 00:03:39,350 --> 00:03:44,074 But then the final bit is you have to pick it up and flatten 62 00:03:44,074 --> 00:03:47,210 it like that. Clapping it between your hands and the nice 63 00:03:47,220 --> 00:03:49,690 thing about that is we get people from all over the world 64 00:03:49,699 --> 00:03:51,940 coming and they say, oh yes, we have that. 65 00:03:51,949 --> 00:03:56,479 This is what we like. It brings it to life. It sounds like a 66 00:03:56,500 --> 00:03:59,869 real kitchen in action is like a real kitchen in action. 67 00:03:59,880 --> 00:04:03,800 But unfortunately, we're also very grubby, very unhygienic. 68 00:04:03,809 --> 00:04:08,490 We wash up with tallow soap, which yes, which is disgusting. 69 00:04:08,570 --> 00:04:10,529 So we can't let people eat. 70 00:04:10,539 --> 00:04:13,679 So, what we do is we tastings for people and it's usually 71 00:04:13,690 --> 00:04:18,320 Kendal gingerbread or rum butter on a bit of oatcake to represent 72 00:04:18,329 --> 00:04:19,369 the clap bread. 73 00:04:19,369 --> 00:04:21,420 JAMES GRASBY: It's sort of beyond experimental archaeology, 74 00:04:21,429 --> 00:04:24,700 isn't it? You're not only recreating the look and the 75 00:04:24,709 --> 00:04:30,519 smell and the utility and the use but sort of living the life 76 00:04:30,559 --> 00:04:32,600 from plot to plate it is really? 77 00:04:32,989 --> 00:04:35,100 GWEN IRVING: Yes, we thought you might like to have a little go. 78 00:04:36,170 --> 00:04:38,829 JAMES GRASBY: Where are you taking me? 79 00:04:38,829 --> 00:04:40,089 GWEN IRVING: Down to the cellar! 80 00:04:40,100 --> 00:04:41,359 JAMES GRASBY: Down to the cellar? 81 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:41,679 Yes. 82 00:04:44,450 --> 00:04:46,756 Sort of a store room and preparation room? 83 00:04:46,756 --> 00:04:49,309 GWEN IRVING: That's right. Yes. It was a store room as you can 84 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:50,829 feel it's pretty cold. 85 00:04:50,839 --> 00:04:54,959 What we thought we would make is some Syllabubs. And these are 86 00:04:54,959 --> 00:04:57,149 our silver glasses. 87 00:04:57,149 --> 00:04:58,869 JAMES GRASBY: What other things have we got here? We got a whisk 88 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:02,260 that seems to be made of little bits of wood like willow or 89 00:05:02,269 --> 00:05:02,600 something. 90 00:05:04,059 --> 00:05:04,091 GWEN IRVING: Birch. 91 00:05:04,091 --> 00:05:04,122 JAMES GRASBY: Birch? 92 00:05:04,122 --> 00:05:04,154 GWEN IRVING: Birch. 93 00:05:04,154 --> 00:05:05,410 It's a birch twig whisk. 94 00:05:05,420 --> 00:05:05,910 JAMES GRASBY: Yes. 95 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:09,320 GWEN IRVING: It's absolutely brilliant. It works really well. 96 00:05:09,429 --> 00:05:09,799 JAMES GRASBY: Prove it! 97 00:05:10,459 --> 00:05:12,059 GWEN IRVING: Well, I think you're going to prove it! 98 00:05:13,350 --> 00:05:14,799 JAMES GRASBY: I hoped you weren't going to say that. 99 00:05:17,380 --> 00:05:21,570 GWEN IRVING: Pour the wine into the Syllabub glasses and it just 100 00:05:21,579 --> 00:05:23,559 needs a small amount. 101 00:05:24,630 --> 00:05:25,790 JAMES GRASBY: I think we just stop here! 102 00:05:27,119 --> 00:05:29,260 We can take the afternoon off and just drink that! 103 00:05:29,260 --> 00:05:30,559 GWEN IRVING: And then you've got your cream there. 104 00:05:30,570 --> 00:05:35,269 JAMES GRASBY: Ok. Look it is, it's going! 105 00:05:39,269 --> 00:05:43,730 GWEN IRVING: Right. Now the difficult bit, this is where you 106 00:05:43,739 --> 00:05:49,390 have to put the cream in so that it just settles on top of the 107 00:05:49,399 --> 00:05:50,010 wine. 108 00:05:57,200 --> 00:05:59,049 JAMES GRASBY: I don't think that is going to pass muster at a 109 00:05:59,059 --> 00:06:00,309 polite meal. 110 00:06:01,369 --> 00:06:04,320 I think I'd get the sack for that. Do you think? 111 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:05,630 GWEN IRVING: Possibly, Yes! 112 00:06:08,450 --> 00:06:13,049 So the house is open again from the 10th of March right through 113 00:06:13,059 --> 00:06:14,470 to the end of October. 114 00:06:14,890 --> 00:06:18,790 There are costume servants here. During term time they're just 115 00:06:18,799 --> 00:06:22,070 here on a Wednesday and a Saturday. But in school 116 00:06:22,079 --> 00:06:26,290 holidays, there's servants in every day that we're open. 117 00:06:26,299 --> 00:06:28,549 The only day we close is a Friday. 118 00:06:29,790 --> 00:06:33,549 So if people would like to come in and join us here at 119 00:06:33,559 --> 00:06:36,410 Wordsworth House, hopefully we can give them a really lovely 120 00:06:36,420 --> 00:06:39,049 experience. Something that they'll always remember. 121 00:06:50,429 --> 00:06:52,540 JAMES GRASBY: Thanks for listening to this mini episode. 122 00:06:57,119 --> 00:07:00,160 I'll be in Agatha Christie's Devonshire retreat the week 123 00:07:00,170 --> 00:07:03,489 after next, but next week, there'll be another short mini 124 00:07:03,519 --> 00:07:06,910 episode where we'll hear how Wordsworth's Home, Allen Bank, 125 00:07:06,910 --> 00:07:10,019 continues to offer inspiration to today's creative minds. 126 00:07:10,459 --> 00:07:13,290 So until then from me, James Grasby, goodbye.