Third recipe from Clara: An excellent recipe for gingerbread

"Two quarts of flour, half a pound of butter, half a pound of sugar rubbed in the flour, with two ounces of Ginger pounded, a little grated lemon peel sweetmeats, a Glass of brandy, one pound & half of treacle - Miss Bilber"  (click image to enlarge) Don't forget to let us know if you try …

Our latest accession: St Werbergh’s parish accounts, 1739

A fascinating series of parish accounts from the Derby parish of St Werbergh have just come in to Derbyshire Record Office, as a transfer from Derby Local Studies Library.  Here is just a snippet.  It looks as though Priscilla Bott was somebody in need, because at least two of her children had their shoes repaired …

The extension taking shape

A few days ago, we posted pictures of the top slab going on to ground floor of the extension.  Well, here's a photo taken an hour ago, showing the upper part of the extension being built on top of that.

1837 Bakewell Pudding now on sale

Following our recent discovery of possibly the earliest written example of a recipe for the famous Bakewell Pudding, Carolyn and Richard Young have recreated the pudding from Clara's recipe and it is now on sale in their Original Farmers Market Shop in Bakewell. Here are some photos of their dish Don't forget to send us …

Another recipe from Clara’s recipe book: Rabbit Soup

"To four quarts of Water, put a couple of old Rabbitscut into small pieces, the lean part of a neck of mutton, a shank of ham a few Turnips, a bunch of sweet herbs, or [unknown], season it with a very little Mace, Cayenne Pepper. Thicken it with butter and Flour and as much cream …

First floor added to the Derbyshire Record Office extension

Here are some freshly-taken snaps of work on our extension.  They show some key moments in the life of the project, as progress becomes tangible.