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The Colman Family in Barwick


from The Barwicker No. 76



During the autumn we had welcome visits from Ann Mathams of Norwich and Rose Mathams of Rawdon, the granddaughter and great-granddaughter respectively of Rev. Frederick Selincourt Colman, who was rector of Barwick from 1899 to 1910. We were able to show them a considerable number of documents, etc., concerning him, which are housed in our resource centre. They kindly let us have some photographs including one of the maypole queen and her large retinue in the garden of the rectory. Colman himself appears, carrying a small boy, probably his son Hugh Frederick Charles, which dates the photo at 1901, a maypole year.

We were also able to examine a cookery notebook entitled 'Recipe Book. Mrs Colman. Barwick Rectory'. It is clear that Mrs Colman wished to introduce continental cuisine to Barwick or at least to the rectory. The book includes a number of exotic recipes, some probably cut from an upmarket ladies' magazine and others written in several hands, and pasted in the book. The book is about 7in. by 4in., hard-backed and with over a hundred ruled pages. It is sadly rather worse for wear which indicates its frequent use, in Barwick and elsewhere, during Mrs Colman's long life.

The notebook has been compiled with some care being divided into subject sections, namely savouries and entrées, poultry, eggs, meats, etc., fish, vegetables and puddings. The first page gives a flavour of the book with three recipes: ravioli, imitation patés de foie gras and tartines huitres au caviar. Under 'various' we find: yeast, china chile, brown bread, chutney, ginger beer and citric acid syrup.

Also written in the book are recipes for some home-made medicines, which by modern standards are of doubtful therapaeutic value. For a chilblain lotion the instructions were:

Take one drachma of sugar of lead (lead acetate. Ed.) and two of white vitriol (zinc sulphate. Ed.), reduce them to a fine powder and add four oz. of water. Apply by rubbing before a good fire. Not to be used for broken chilblains


A cholera mixture was made up as follows;

20 drops of laudanum. 12 to 20 drops of essence of peppermint. 1 tablespoon of brandy in a wine glass of cold water.


This seems a very simple cure for a disease that killed millions during previous centuries. Was it addictive, one wonders? Laudanum is tincture of opium.

ARTHUR BANTOFT


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