MIDDLETON ON THE WOLDS HERITAGE

What People Ate

“On the Yorkshire Wolds we mostly barley eat
For there they grow but very little wheat.
We lived on barley bread and barley pies,
And oats and peas the want of wheat supplies.”

Food was largely dictated by the fertile land, with barley being the staple crop, shaping the menu of families who called the Wolds home.

What People Wore

“A white jacket, a pair of corduroy trousers,
A long smock, pulled up and tied round the waist,
And a badger skin cap – such was the garb
Of the Wolds labourer one hundred years ago.”

The traditional attire of the Wolds labourer consisted of practical garments, designed to withstand the rigors of agricultural life while reflecting a unique regional style that persisted through the ages.

Where People Lived

“The cottages (called Nooks) were mud-walled and thatched-roofed,
About six feet high, some had beetling brows
Beneath the small windows like eyes twinkling in the sun,
And leaned like the tower of Pisa;
Being whitewashed and embowered with flowers,
They presented a pretty appearance,
Which helped to compensate for the wretched accommodation within.”

These charming dwellings, adorned with blossoms, might have seemed inviting from the outside, yet provided modest shelter within.

“A spacious chimney, projecting halfway across the nook,
Left sufficient space for a large family to gather round the fire
And see the daylight out of the top of the chimney
Without rising from their seat. A wood fire,
With sprinkling of coal, gave warmth to the event.”

Each nook was more than a home; it was a gathering place, where warmth, both physical and communal, enveloped the family unit.

“Each cottage had its well-fed pig,
And this home-fed bacon was a great treat,
For as an old woman said, ‘there was first a laveret of fat
And then a lavaret of lean. No pigs can beat
Those fed on these wolds.’”

The pig, a valuable asset, played a central role in sustenance, transforming into cherished meals that marked the rhythm of life on the Wolds.

What People Believed

“Behind the door hung the charm stone
And horse shoe turned upside down
For the purpose of keeping out the witch and wizard.”

Deeply rooted traditions shaped the beliefs of the people, intertwining the mystical with everyday life as they sought protection from malevolent forces.

How People Saved

“Every man was his own banker,
And any surplus cash was put in some place in the nook,
Regardless of all interest. When a good sum had been accumulated,
It was put into the foot of an old stocking
And hid in some beam or boak.”

The practices of saving reflected both resourcefulness and caution, as hard-won earnings were discreetly stashed away, with tales of hidden treasures emerging from long-forgotten nooks across the landscape.

Leisure Pursuits! Including a greasy Pole and a race for snuff!

“When they were not working the pleasures enjoyed by the people were not of an elevated nature.  Men climbed a greasy pole for a leg of mutton and women tied in sacks ran races for tea, sugar and snuff which were rare and costly luxuries in those days.  Football, quoits, skittles, wrestling, dog and cock fighting, rat hunts, boxing and fighting, bull and badger baiting were also indulged in.  It was also a time when poaching, cattle stealing, robbing hen roosts and killing game were common”.

Source: The Reverend H Woodcock writing in 1889, quoted in Geoff Wisher’s Heritage Sheet 26

Writing in the same year as Revd Woodcock 1889 about Middleton, Kelly reported that “from time to time the villagers have played at a game of ‘tut-ball’ on Shrove Tuesday.” The game sounds very similar to rounders, with ‘tuts’ being the name for bases. In its earliest form, the ball was hit with the back of the hand. People believed that unless they played the game on the right day (Ash Wednesday in some sources, though generally during the Easter Holidays), then they would fall sick in harvest time. By the turn of the century the game was mainly played by boys. An ancient game, also called ‘stool-ball,’, it was “indulged in by the clergy as well as laity to avert misfortune.”

Source: Alice Gomme, the Traditional Games of England ,Scotland and Ireland p314 (David Nutt, London 1898) courtesy of Geoff Wisher.

The miserable life of a Yorkshire Labourer

“With regard to the labourers, they are everywhere miserable.  The wages for most who are employed on the land are, through all the counties that I have come, twelve shillings a week for married men and less for single ones; but a large part of them are not even at this season employed on the land.  The farmers, for want of means of profitable employment, suffer the men to fall upon the parishes and they are employed in digging and breaking stone for the roads”.

Source: “Rural Rides” William Cobbett 1830 The famous account of his travels through England, during the agricultural depression,  in Geoff Wisher’s Heritage Sheet 26.

We hope to add more to the website in this area.

Written by K. Kaye

May 2025