Bread, Meat and Sugar

Yirrell’s butcher’s shop, Old Road, Linslade c.1900 [Z50/74/15]

Friday 21st September 1917: The Emergency Committee of the Linslade Urban and Wing and Eaton Bray Rural Joint Food Control Committee has been dealing with issues regarding the implementation of the Bread Order which came into force on Monday. This required all bakers’ stocks to be recorded on the previous Saturday evening – no simple task when there were twenty villages in addition to the town of Linslade to cover. With the introduction of the Order the price of flour dropped from about 60 shillings to 44 shillings and three pence, and bakers were to be compensated for all stock in hand which had been purchased at the higher price. All stocks were to be inspected, with invoices proving the price paid to be presented to the inspector. At last week’s meeting of the Committee it was decided that the sub-committees recently appointed for each village should be given responsibility for the task, and a single Linslade committee member should carry out the inspection in the town. At today’s committee meeting it was reported that the matter had been dealt with satisfactorily. Only one Linslade baker required adjustment as all the others had cleared out their stocks by Saturday evening. The village sub-committees had not yet made their returns due to a delay in sending out forms

The Committee also considered butchers’ scales of charges. The Committee was informed that only five had sent in lists of their meat prices. Offenders were to be sharply reminded of their obligations and warned that failure to meet them was punishable by a £100 fine and imprisonment. Butchers were now also required to exhibit their prices but in a number of cases this was not being done. The position of itinerant butchers under the regulations was questioned, and the committee Chairman advised that they were required to display prices in the same way as any other butcher, with their cart being treated as a shop for this purpose. Notices have been sent out asking those butchers who have not already done so to display their price list as ordered by the Food Controller. There was concern that as butchers were allowed to make £10 on each bullock price manipulation was taking place. Butchers with a high-class trade reduced the price of poor cuts which they did not sell and increased the price of better joints, while those who traded mostly in cheap cuts lowered the official prices for the more expensive parts and charged more for the rest.

The committee was given a long list of applications for registration as retailers of sugar, with all but one approved. There was some surprise at the number of sugar retailers, with the village of Wing having as many as eleven certified as having sold sugar during the year 1915 – it is thought that some only ever sold sugar in the form of sweets! The Linslade applicant whose claim was disputed explained in a letter that his business was opened in July 1916 and dealt mainly with boat people who were concerned about their future supply of sugar. It was recommended that the application should be refused as there were two other shops near the canal where supplies could be obtained.

Source: Leighton Buzzard Observer 18th and 25th September 1917

Leighton Buzzard Property Market

Heath Road, c.1915 [Z1306/72/7/2]

Tuesday 4th September 1917: Despite war time conditions the local property market in Leighton Buzzard continues to improve, with Messrs. Cumberland and Hopkins carrying out successful auctions of properties in Leighton Buzzard and Heath and Reach. A pair of modern, seven-roomed villas in Heath Road, known as Fair View and West View, both currently let at annual rents of £39 p.a., were sold for £335 each. The houses are bay fronted, with ornamental flower gardens in front and large gardens at the rear.

A freehold, double-fronted house at 59 North Street, with yard, stabling, coachhouse and outbuildings was put up for sale by the Aylesbury Brewery Company and was bought by Messrs. W. J. and G. Baker for £290. This property was formerly the Buffalo Public House and was used as an inn or beerhouse for at least two hundred years before it closed in 1913 and became a private house,  In Heath and Reach a double fronted six-roomed freehold cottage on Shenley Hill Road, currently leased at £10.8s p.a. was sold for £205.

Source: Leighton Buzzard Observer, 4th September 1917

White or Brown?

Photographic postcard of a group of army cooks, with trays of bread entitled Awaiting Orders to cook the Kaiser, by J T Welch [Z835/18/1]

Wednesday 12th August 1914: It is being suggested that the public should eat bread made from wholemeal flour rather than white bread. Eating wholemeal or brown bread would reduce waste and would be an effective way to help limited flour supplies stretch further. Another advantage is that wholemeal bread is said to be healthier because it contains the wheat “germs”.

Source: Luton News 13th August 1914

A Disturbance in Dunstable

Poster issued following the Dunstable Riot [SJV11]

Tuesday 11th August 1914 (Dunstable): Food prices are still a source of discontent and there have been accusations that some grocers are profiteering and charging more than they should. Suspicion that prices are being put up unnecessarily led to a disturbance in Dunstable last night.

A crowd of over a thousand people gathered in High Street North. To start with they were quite good humoured, singing patriotic songs. Then the mood turned angry. A brick was thrown through the plate glass window of Mr Mowse’s grocer’s shop and was followed with a shower of stones.[1] All the windows in the front of the shop and house were broken. The police lost control and there were threats to loot the shop. Major S J Green, the commander of C Squadron of the Beds Yeomanry drove up in his motor car and spoke to the angry crowd. The Major was greeted with cheers, but after he left the mood turned nasty again and more stones were thrown before the mob finally broke up and went home at around one o’clock.

Another crowd gathered early in the morning, this time to see off Major Green’s Bedfordshire Yeomanry Squadron from the LNW railway station. His men had mobilised in Dunstable on Thursday and had been billeted in Messrs. White’s mineral water factory since. While the Yeomanry were at Dunstable many young men applied to join them, but they were turned away because the Squadron was already at its full war strength.

Sources: Luton News, 13th August 1914 and 29th October 1914; correspondence file SJV11

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[1] A police report on the incident dated 7 November 1914 explains the grievance against the shopkeeper, Ernest Mowse of 81 High Street North:

There was a strong feeling amongst the people against Mr Mowse, on account of him having raised the prices of his goods, and it having been reported that he said he could do without the trade of the poorer classes. Mr Mowse also did a little wholesale trade with some smaller shop-keepers, and it was stated that he had been round and got them to raise their prices also. The feeling of the people were entirely against Mr Mowse only.

A claim was made for payment under the Riot Damages Act of 1888 by the Luton Mutual Plate Glass Insurance Association Ltd which had paid for repairs, but this was refused on the grounds that the Riot Act had not been read and the incident could therefore not be classified as a riot. 

Food Prices

Luton News, 6th August 1914

Thursday 6th August 1914 (Luton): The biggest worry for women in this first week of the war is how to make the housekeeping money stretch. Food prices have already started to rise. No wheat is coming from Russia and England cannot be sure of supplies from America. Wheat prices have risen 30% in a week and all the bakers have agreed to increase the price of a quartern loaf by a halfpenny. Lump sugar has gone up from three pence to five pence. If this continues people will soon not be able to afford to put sugar in their tea. Lard, cheese and butter have also gone up, and condensed milk has doubled in price. Today's local newspaper included a notice posted by the Luton Tradesmen’s Association warning people against buying too much and stockpiling food. Perhaps they should do the same as the Bedford tradesmen who have agreed not to fulfil unreasonably large orders and have promised not to put prices up until they are compelled to do so. It is all very well for those folks who can afford to buy enough to hoard extra food, but many wage packets cannot stretch that far. At least the butchers have promised to try to keep their prices down.

Source: Luton News 6th August 1914