From the Archive: Ann Fanshawe’s recipe book
21 July 2011. By Helen Wakely
What is it?
Lady Ann Fanshawe compiled this recipe collection from 1651, and passed it on to her daughter Katherine shortly before she died in 1680. The volume is a vast accumulation of culinary and medicinal knowledge, and reflects Fanshawe's intense interest in testing out a broad range of recipes, from ice cream to perfumes to cures for melancholy.
Why is it so special?
Fanshawe's volume is just one of nearly 300 recipe manuscripts held in the Wellcome Library, but hers stands out as it reflects her time in Spain and Portugal as the wife of Charles II's ambassador. During her travels Fanshawe noted down several unusual recipes (including instructions on how to "dress chocolate", or make drinking chocolate). But her everyday recipes are equally interesting, as they shed light on 17th-century medical knowledge and the role of women as household physicians.
Can you see it?
The manuscript is kept in a climate-controlled strongroom, but you can view it in the Library by ordering it through the Library catalogue. You can also access it digitally (along with 75 other recipe manuscripts in the collection) from the Library's website.
Want to know more?
Then come along to Wellcome Collection’s 'Recipes and Remedies' events this autumn. A series of discussions, talks and tasting events will explore the cultural, economic and scientific aspects of food and health over time, and uncover the surprising resonances of 17th-century recipes for our 21st-century lives.
Find out more on the Wellcome Library website.
This piece also appears in the latest issue of
‘Wellcome News’.
Top image: The outside front cover of the 1651 recipe book by Ann Fanshawe.
Credit: Wellcome Library, London.
