GRAIN

See Also: BEER; BREAD; CAKES & PASTRIES; GIN; HAY; MILLS; MENU

The Corn Exchange

Cheapside and Cornhill were medieval London's grain markets.

In the early 18^thC two new corn markets began to develop. One grew up in Whitechapel, where farmers would leave samples of their corn with tavernkeepers for inspection by potential customers. From this developed the Corn Exchange (1747), which acquired premises in Mark Lane (a New Exchange was built in 1828). The other exchange was the Metropolitan Corn Market which was established at Bear Quay, Lower Thames Street. The two exchanges amalgamated with one another in 1929.

The commodities traded on the Corn Exchange came to include the likes of fertilisers, pulses and animal feedstuffs. In 1987 it moved into the Baltic Exchange, where it held trading sessions once a week.

Location: Cornhill, EC3V 3LA (purple, red)

Mark Lane, EC3R 7ND (blue, turquoise)

See Also: FOOD MARKETS, FORMER

Famine Relieved

During the Tudor era England's population doubled. In 1598 Parliament created the world's first national system for poverty relief. This operated through parish vestries. Initially, the poor law system was not implanted with any rigour.

In 1623 was the last time that England suffered famine. Grain had to be imported from overseas. Some regions, notably the north-west, were particularly reliant on food from elsewhere. 5% of the North s population died. Subsequently, the poor law system was implemented. This meant that in times of hardship impoverished people remained in their locality rather than taking to the road and thereby spreading disease. The government no longer intervened in grain market in order to try to force down grain prices; such interventions had probably been counterproductive. Food crises continued to occur every decade or so. The late 1640s were characterised by such a shortage. However, famine did not recur. This was the first time that such had occurred in any large state.

Ireland and Scotland did not introduce poor law systems. The two countries continued to experience famines.

See Also: SOCIAL WELFARE

Grain Types and Usage

The breads for bread and biscuits are different from one another. Those for the latter are softer and have a lower level of protein that those that are used for the former. The lower level of protein stops the dough rising as it is baked.

See Also: BREAD; BISCUITS; CAKES & PASTRIES Tax

King's Cross Granary

In the 1850s Lewis Cubbitt designed the granary complex at King's Cross to receive grain that had been grown in East Anglia and the north. The building stood next to the Regent s Canal.

In 2010 the granary building became the home of the University of the Arts's Central St Martins College of Art & Design

Location: Granary Square, The Eastern Goods Yard, King's Cross Goods Yard, N1C 4AB (purple, brown)

Website: www.arts.ac.uk/colleges/central-saint-martins

The Repeal of The Corn Laws

The Napoleonic Wars had caused the price of grain to be high for a sustained period. This benefitted landowners. They used their political representation in Parliament to ensure the passage of the Corn Laws. These statutes kept the price of grain artificially high. The Tories formed a government in 1841 that was led by Robert Peel. He was different from his most colleagues by being the son of a free trade Lancastrian cotton manufacturer. He appreciated that the laws were keeping the price of food high and that this was exacerbating socio-political tensions. Peel was aware that his fellow Tories would not support the statutes repealing as a body. However, in 1845 the Irish potato famine occurred. This furnished with the means of ensuring the passage of the Repeal Act of 1846. This undercut the Laws. The Tory party ruptured. A number of its talented younger members, notably William Gladstone, tergiversated to the Whig party.

In 1848 Europe was subject to a series of revolutions. Britain was not. The Repeal Act was a major factor in this. The measure's passage had released much of the built-up tension.

Native Taste

When Britain began to switch to relying upon imported wheat, bakers found that initially they had to keep on using some British grains, such as red lammas, in order to ensure that the bread that they produced would have a taste that their customers would find acceptable. The native cereals tended to have deeper roots, therefore, they tended to have more nutrients.

Seething Lane

Seething Lane's name may derive from an Old English word for chaff . This being a possible reference to the husks that were blown eastwards by the prevailing winds from a corn market to the west of the street.

Location: Seething Lane, EC3N 4AT (orange, orange)

David Backhouse 2024