Monthly Archives: June 2026

27/06/2026 · 8:18 am

Food & Agriculture in Prehistoric & Medieval Scotland with Maureen Kilpatrick

Today I am speaking with Maureen Kilpatrick of Guard Archaeology, a Scottish archaeology firm that has dug sites all over Scotland, but today we are focusing on one site called Guardbridge, in Fife, where the timespan the finds ranged from is astounding: from the Stone Age to the 13th century. Several finds were food-related.

The site is amazing – there’s an Iron Age fort, there are field demarcations, evidence of food and how it was processed and cooked, as well as lots of evidence of the community moving from a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a settled farming one.

Left: An artist’s impressing of the Bronze Age settlement (Guard Archaeology); Right: detail of an 1828 map of the area showing the location of Guardbridge

We talk about the material objects found on site, such as saddle querns, axes and ploughing tools, food remains like emmer wheat, barley, cockles and the indestructible hazelnut, non-slip pottery and the surprisingly late appearance of oats, amongst many other things.

The British Food History Podcast is available on all podcast apps. Alternatively, you can stream it via this Spotify embed:

Those listening to the secret podcast get some bonus material where we discuss whether modern agriculture with its mechanised ploughs is a help or a hindrance to archaeologists these days.

Read the full report: ARO61: Guardbridge, Fife: A multi-period settlement with a multi-vallate fort

Follow Guard Archaeology in X/Twitter @GUARD_Archaeol

L-R: polished mesolithic axe heads; a mesolithic dwelling; a drawing of one of the excavated Bronze Age beakers (images: Guard Archaeology)

Season 10 of the podcast is sponsored by Netherton Foundry, makers of high-quality kitchen and outdoor cookware. Netherton Foundry ships to several countries outside of the UK, including the USA and Canada. Visit www.netherton-foundry.co.uk to find out more about their wonderful products – approved not just by me but by folk such as Tom Parker-Bowles, Diana Henry and Nigella Lawson.

The mixing and sound engineering were done by Thomas Ntinas of The Delicious Legacy podcast

If you can, support the podcast and blogs by becoming a £3 monthly subscriber, and unlock lots of premium content, including bonus blog posts and recipes, access to the easter eggs and the secret podcast, or treat me to a one-off virtual pint or coffee: click here.

Things mentioned in today’s episode

ARO55: Excavations at the site of Bell’s Pottery, Stafford Street/Kyle Street, Glasgow

BBC News Article: ‘Whole prehistory of Fife’ found in one field, experts say

Serve it Forth Food History Festival EARLY BIRD TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW!

Ludlow Food Festival 2026

My appearance on the Offscript podcast as part of their Albion season

Previous pertinent podcast episodes

Bronze Age Food & Foodways with Chris Wakefield & Rachel Ballantyne

Don’t forget, there will be postbag episodes in the future, so if you have any questions or queries about today’s episode, or indeed any episode, or have a question about the history of British food please email me at neil@britishfoodhistory.com, or leave a comment.

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Filed under Britain, food, General, history, Mediaeval Age, Podcast, Scotland, Uncategorized

Tagged as agriculture, archaeology, Bronze Age, farming, food, history, hunter-gatherer, Iron Age, Mediaeval, podcasts, prehistory, Stone Age

26/06/2026 · 2:41 pm

Serve it Forth Food History Festival: Early Bird Tickets Now Available!

Hello everyone. Just a very quick post to let you all know that the 2nd Serve it Forth Food History Festival will be on Saturday 17th October 2026. Like last year, it will be online, and also like last year, if you can’t make the whole day, all sessions will be available to watch again – and again if you like! – after the event.

We’re not quite ready to make any announcements, but tickets are already available at a special early bird price of £10 until 31st July, where the price will be £12.

We will start making announcements as to who our guests will be toward the end of July, so if you would like a grab yourself a ticket, please visit the Eventbrite page here.

Please also check out our website here, which will be updated with news as and when we have it.

Sam Bilton, Thomas Ntinas, Alessandra Pino and I are all really looking forward to seeing you there – so save that date: 17 October 2026!

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Filed under events, food, General, history, Uncategorized

Tagged as festivals & celebrations, food, history, Serve it Forth

18/06/2026 · 8:02 am

Feeding the Georgian Kings with Adam Crymble & Rachel Rich

In this week’s episode I am speaking with Adam Crymble and Rachel Rich about a really exciting piece of research looking at the complexities of feeding the households of King George III and his eldest son George who was Prince Regent whilst George III suffered from his “madness”, and eventually succeeded him as George IV. The focus of the research is the ledgers that still exist, listing the ingredients ordered, foods that were prepared and the people who ate them. Over 40,000 dishes were counted.

They have analysed the ledgers from two royal palaces – George III’s Kew Palace and the Prince Regent’s Carlton House – with two other food historians Sarah Fox and Lisa Smith, and assimilated them to produce a book called The King’s Dinner: Family, nation, and identity on the British table, 1760-1820, which was published by UCL Press on 11 June 2026. The book is available from wherever you buy your books, but it is also available open access as a free PDF. So is the data they used in their analysis.

From left to right: Co-author Adam Crymble, the cover of *The King’s Dinner*, co-author Rachel Rich

We talk about the differing characters of the two Georges and how these were expressed in the foods they ate, Georgian food identity, the concept of oeconomy, the exotic food cultures NOT appearing on royal dinner tables, French cuisine and famous French chef Careme’s tenure in the Prince Regent’s kitchens, as well as their fruit and veg suppliers, one of whom was called Savage Bear, amongst many other things

Those listening to the secret podcast get some bonus material where we discuss the upper servant’s fancy foods, the huge amounts of meat consumed, and the politics of wine.

The British Food History Podcast is available on all podcast apps, but you can also listen to it via this Spotify embed:

The King’s Dinner: Family, nation, and identity on the British table, 1760-1820 (open access)

3000 dishes on a Georgian table

Adam’s bio on the UCL website

Follow Adam on social media: @adamcrymble.bsky.social (Bluesky); @dradamcrymble (Insta)

Rachel’s bio on Leeds Beckett University website

Follow Rachel Rich on social media: @drrachelrich (Insta)

The Brighton Banqueting Room (L); and a satirical cartoon of a doctor thanking a French chef for making his patients (customers!) so unhealthy.

The mixing and sound engineering were done by Thomas Ntinas of The Delicious Legacy podcast

Things mentioned in today’s episode

Rachel’s articles on The Recipes Project

Hugh Laurie playing the Prince Regent on Blackadder the Third

Previous pertinent podcast episodes

Eating Out in Georgian London with Peter Ross

18th Century Tavern Cookery with Marc Meltonville

18th Century Dining with Ivan Day

The Philosophy of Curry with Sejal Sukhadwala

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Filed under Books, Britain, Eighteenth Century, food, General, history, The Royals

Tagged as 18th century, 19th century, Adam Crymble, books, food, history, podcasts, Rachel Rich, Regency Britain, The Georgians, The Royals

07/06/2026 · 7:12 am

Treasures of the Guildhall Library with Peter Ross

Today I am talking with returning guest Peter Ross who was, until recently, the Principal Librarian at the City of London’s Guildhall Library. His fantastic book called Insatiable Appetites, Eating Out in Georgian London, published by the Bodleian Library, was published last month, May 2026. Today we are talking about the collections in the Guildhall Library, which is a staggering 600 years old.

The broadsheet by the Company of Brewers discussed in the secret podcast (L) and a list of foods from the Company of Grocers accounts (R)

We talk about the history of the library and how it got some of its collections such as the Elizabeth David collection, but also some of the lesser known ones such as the Robert Miller collection, the splendiferous feast put on for James I by the Merchant Tailors, the importance of the author’s voice when it comes to writing popular cookery books, Hannah Glasse’s sauerkraut, and Elizabeth David’s Fanny Cradock avoidance techniques, amongst many other things.

Those listening to the secret podcast get some bonus material where we discuss the Hannah Glasse recipes that don’t work, the Worshipful Company of Brewers, poisonous pears in pewter pots and more.

The British Food History Podcast is available to follow and download on all podcast apps. Alternatively, you can listen to this episode via this Spotify embed: