Accession No. RARE.2023.0008: Purchased, 2016 January
[identification of item], Handwritten Cookbook Belonging to Martha Crownfield and Martha Mileham of South Walsham (Norfolk, England), SPEC.RARE.MMS.0366, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University
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Processed by: Lindsay Resnick, 2023 May; Finding aid written by: Lindsay Resnick, 2023 May
Cookbooks are reference books of recipes that contain instructions and ingredients for preparing different foods. Cookbooks may also include recipes for medicinal remedies, household products, and cosmetics. Recipe books have been written and used for centuries, and had a surge in popularity around the time that women’s literacy began to rise in England, around the 17th century.
Martha Crownfield was the wife of the rector of South Walsham in Norfolk, England, beginning in 1742. Martha and her husband, Henry, had a daughter, also named Martha, in 1747. The elder Martha began collecting recipes in this book in 1746, and in 1775, she passed it down to her daughter. In 1771, the younger Martha married Benjamin Mileham, and continued adding recipes to the book.
The Handwritten Cookbook Belonging to Martha Crownfield and Martha Mileham of South Walsham (Norfolk, England), dated 1746-1772, is a vellum-bound cookbook containing approximately 135 recipes for foods, medicinal remedies, and household items. While the book was owned by both Martha Crownfield and her daughter Martha Mileham, its authorship is not entirely known, as there are recipes written in multiple hands throughout the book.
Most of the recipes in this cookbook are for food items, such as plum cake, potted hare, calf’s-foot jelly, and various types of creams. There are also recipes for wines, such as currant, cherry, raisin, and gooseberry wine. In addition to food and drinks, the book contains recipes for household remedies and cosmetics such as “A Wash to Make Hair Fair,” “Pills for Shortness of Breath,” and “To Wash Gloves.”
Some of the recipes in this cookbook are attributed to other authors, such as “A Receipt to Make Strong Mead—From Mrs. Hinckins,” and “For a Cold--by my Lady Walpole."
On the inside back cover, there is a ledger of “An Account What every one is charged with to the Rates,” listing financial charges to the parish and others who lived in the area.