Monks discover chicken curry recipe in 200 year old cookbook

19 Jan 2016

Monks at Downside Abbey have discovered a handwritten recipe book, dating from 1793, in their Monastery Library.

With recipes as diverse as Turtle Soup, Chicken Curry and Fricassee of Pigs Feet and Ears, there is also a controversial recipe for the historic Sally Lunn bun.

Dom Christopher Calascione, a Downside monk, recreated the Sally Lunn recipe for the BBC this week, with a taste testing at the renowned Bath eatery.

First and foremost we are a Monastic library and our specialisms are in history, theology, and philosophy … but yes we do have unusual material such as cookbooks which are just as useful to a monk’s education as Thomas Aquinas.

Dr Simon Johnson, Director of Heritage

Abbey Archives and Library

Donated as part of a private collection, the cook book was originally from Begbrook House, near Bristol. According to local history, the house was burnt by suffragettes in the early twentieth century.

Treasures within the Library include St John Henry Newman’s personal copy of the Bible, early Bibles printed in English, and a beautifully illustrated fourteenth century Book of Hours and other medieval manuscripts, rare theological texts, and unusual donated collections.

These include books on sundials, birds, archaeology, and local history, along with the Archives of the English Benedictine Congregation dating back to the seventeenth century. Members of the public can access the collections by clicking here.