Northumbria and Tyneside

by Helen Gaffney

People have prospered in this most northerly of England’s counties from earliest times, as evidenced by numerous ancient settlements which have yielded up treasures in the form of cup-and-ring finds. The Romans maintained it as the northern extremity of their vast empire and after their precipitate departure the region developed as the seat of learning and culture with Northumberland flourishing as a beacon whose light pricked the farthest reaches of the Holy Roman Empire. Her scholars were sought after at European courts and she attracted the notice and respect of the great. Unfortunately, the wealth accruing to her majestic priories and abbeys also attracted the predatory instincts of the land-hungry heathen and in due course the region was subject to the ravages of the Viking.

In the days when much of the region was cloaked in forest, all manner of wildlife proliferated. This provided both food and sport but later, as the woodlands were cleared and settlements grew up, the area developed into one of great lawlessness between the locals and the Scots. For several hundred years the area became steeped in feuds, bloodshed and violence, which have been romanticised in many ballads.

The border between Scotland and England was less clearly defined during the Middle Ages than it is today. This was a time when powerful families exercised their authority locally. Pillage and plunder was the order of the day – the king’s writ openly derided and redress through the courts all but impossible to come by. Added to this state of anarchy, respective monarchs from both sides of the border frequently took upon themselves the role of Reiver-in-Chief and local bands of freebooters swelled into armies that left in their wake a trail of utter devastation.

At a time when there was no refrigeration or canned foods to hand, when preservation was limited to salting and spicing, feeding an army on the march not to mention the horses, must have been a formidable proposition. York was England'’ northern granary and it was a 200-mile march from there to Berwick at the county’s northern tip. There was also a limit to the amount of fodder the English king could ship to Berwick, so his imperialistic designs were usually thwarted. He was forced to retire south and Northumberland was frequently left to the mercy of Scottish revenge. This generally took the form of inflicting as much damage over as wide an area as possible before being chased off and retiring with as many beasts as could be rounded up to replenish their larders and restock their own devastated farms.

The practice of fire and sword gave way to a more peaceful co-existence after the Act of the Union was passed. The region became more settled and agriculture developed, with the emphasis on sheep. It became the place of the great country house. To this day Northumberland supports several great landowners.

Northumberland possesses many powerful attractions: craggy hills to the north-west sweeping down to low-lying plains which fall away to the sea on the east, where the largely unspoiled coastline, dotted with the ruins of once-formidable castles, stretches uninterrupted for some seventy miles. A threadwork of rivers once replete with trout and salmon are woven into the fabric of the county and when Tyneside was at the height of her power, her river was to her what the Thames remains to London. To the south-west, rich green valleys cloak Tynedale, while the south-east illustrates the backbone of an industrial skeleton, which once supported an entire nation. For those who live here, Newcastle-upon-Tyne remains peerless amongst cities; pride in the region, as it struggles to come to terms with the post-industrial era, is undiminished.

From the nineteenth century, Northumberland had a flourishing kipper industry, for which the picturesque harbour of Craster was particularly renowned. The smokehouses at Craster have their own special light cure, based on a technique originally used for salmon, which hasn’t changed much in over a century. The kippers have an appetising flavour and good, rich colour that owes nothing to artificial dyes or additives but comes instead from lengthy smoking over a slow oak fire. One of the best uses for them is to make Kipper Paste with them.

Salmon is another fish available locally. In the 18th century Potted Salmon was very popular. There are a number of recipe variations including one from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Cockles are also available here and can be made into a delicious Cockle Soup. Originally the cockles were boiled in seawater for this soup, but this is not necessary today. In addition, mussels are popular, as in the Northumberland Mussels in Cream dish.

Bacon is a popular ingredient used in the region’s cooking. Alnwick Stew is made from chopped bacon forehock layered with onions and potatoes while Bacon Floddies are traditional to Gateshead and served with sausages and eggs as a breakfast or supper dish.

The popular Northumberland supper dish of Pan Haggerty is said to have taken its name from the French ‘Hachis’, meaning to chop or slice. Traditionally Pan Haggerty is always served directly from the pan in which it is cooked. Another popular supper dish from the county is Celery Cheese. Other dishes use cheese and vegetables such as Whitley Goose, a traditional dish from Whitley Bay which has nothing to do with real geese!

Leeks are popular and are grown throughout the area. There are competitions for growing the biggest leeks and many Northumbrians are passionate about them. Leek Pudding is a suet pudding filled with chopped leeks, served as an accompaniment to stews.

One of the most famous dishes from the region is Pease Pudding, which dates back to Medieval days. Traditionally it has been eaten with pork. In the nineteenth century ‘Pease Pudding Hot…’ was sold by street vendors – especially in and around Newcastle. It was, and still is, very much a North-Eastern dish. Another dish made with split peas is Carlings. This dish takes its name from the Old English word for ‘mourning’. It was conventionally served on Passion – or Carling – Sunday, when church altars were draped in purple in mourning for the memory of Christ’s Passion. Dishes containing peas were regularly eaten during Lent, when meat was forbidden.

Newcastle Pudding is a steamed form of bread and butter pudding, flavoured with lemon and served with a lemon sauce. Another dessert from the area is North Country Tart, which is an open tart layered with raspberry jam and an egg, coconut and golden syrup mixture. Another popular Northumberland farmhouse pudding goes by the name of Tasty Batter Pudding.

The region has several traditional bakery items. Courting cakes were traditionally made by newly-engaged girls to impress their betrothed. Versions appear all over Britain but they are particularly popular in the Northern counties. Lemon cakes are made in both Northumbria and Cumbria.

Singin’ Hinnies are a type of fried scone that gained its name because it ‘sings’ and sizzles while cooking. ‘Hinny’ is a Northern term of endearment used especially to children. Similar to Singin’ Hinnies are Northumbrian Gridle Cakes, also known as Gosforth Gridies. Another scone-like bread from the area is Northumberland Threshing Day Barley Bread that is baked on a griddle and made at threshing time.

Felton Spice Loaf is a traditional high-tea loaf from the county. Northumberland Twists are made from yeast-cake dough, cut into strips, twisted and brushed with sherry prior baking.

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne is well known for mead which can be used in cooking for such dishes as Lindisfarne Chicken and Holy Island Syllabub. In the medieval days when the monks inhabited the island, it was thought that if the soul was in God’s keeping, the body must be fortified with this elixir of herbs and honey, the wine bequeathed to posterity as Lindisfarne Mead. The monks have long vanished, but their spirit lingers in this aphrodisiac whose exact recipe remains a secret of the family still producing it. The word ‘honeymoon’ is derived from the ancient Norse custom of having newly-weds drink mead for a whole moon in order to increase their fertility and therefore chances of a happy and fulfilled marriage.

To pause a while amidst the varied landscape of Northumbria is to conjure up a sense of the distant past within the present. Allowing imagination full rein with wholesome ingredients, we can reproduce a wide variety of appealing dishes from the area to satisfy anyone from a hungry Viking horde to the simple palate of a saintly Cuthbert, from the rapacious appetite of a hot-blooded Percy to the cultured taste of Lord Collingwood, or even the whims of a twentieth century junk-food addict!