The British Library holds many manuscripts that offer insights into the practice of cookery and culinary tastes from the 17th century onwards. Below provides an introduction to some of these sources.  

Culinary Manuscripts: 17th Century

17th-century miscellany of culinary and medical recipes (Sloane MS. 703 f. 85r)

Unpublished manuscripts from the 17th century offer insights into the personal recipes, tastes and habits of specific families and households. These manuscripts were most often produced informally, for domestic use, and so are often unattributed and written in multiple hands. 

The Sloane manuscript collections hold thousands of recipes that Sir Hans Sloane collected as a physician. The relationship between diet, health, food and medicine was very close in the 17th century and many medicinal and cookery recipes (or receipts as they were known before the 18th century) have been preserved side-by-side in the manuscripts. In amongst these manuscripts are the recipes of Margaret Crux (Sloane MS 1468), John Hobart (Sloane MS 2155), Elizabeth Beere (Sloane MS 2488), Hugo Vaugen (Sloane MS 3276), Anthony Lewes (Sloane MS 556), Samuel Bellingham (Sloane MS 645), and many more by unnamed authors. 

Many culinary manuscripts have been preserved through the papers of royal and aristocratic households. Household accounts often include kitchen expenditure, offering insights into the cost of ingredients, the quantities bought and culinary fashions that were followed by prominent families. An example of this can be seen in food expenses and bills of fare belonging to Lady Jane Townshend (Add MS 41306). Some manuscript recipe books have also been preserved within these family collections, for example those of Anne Glydd (Add MS 45196) and Elizabeth Brockman (Add MS 45199) in the Brockman Papers; and multiple family recipe books within the Evelyn Papers (Add MS 78168-78693). 

Other stand-alone manuscript recipe books are found outside of collected family papers. Manuscript recipe books were often kept by prominent women within the household who would have had oversight of the kitchens. Examples include the recipe books of Mary Glover (Add MS 57944), Dorothy Washbourne (Add MS 36308), Mary Birkhead (Egerton MS 2415), Mary Doggett (Add MS 27466), Mary Dacres (Add MS 56248) and Lady Harley (Egerton MS 2214).

Highlights 

• An account of food served to Queen Elizabeth I (dated 16th–17th century) Lansdowne MS 105/3 

• Queen Anne of Denmark's household food accounts Harley MS 157 

• Richard Bower's recipe for making coffee and chocolate Sloane MS 645 

• Recipe to preserve beef at sea, in the hand of Sir Walter Raleigh Add MS 12097 

• Early 17th-century recipe book with directions for serving dinners Add MS 28319 

• Mary Evelyn's instructions on keeping a house, and her bills of fare Add MS 80766 

• Diaries and recipes of Elizabeth Freke, in the Freke Papers Add MS 45718 

Culinary manuscripts: 18th century 

Table plan of a bill of fare for the 1st Earl of Chichester, Thomas Pelham, Add MS 33509, f 1r.

The 1700s witnessed significant advancements in agriculture and food production, as well as an increasing variety of ingredients available for cooking that were bought back from Britain’s trade networks and expanding empire. The establishment of plantations and expansion of slave labour in the Americas meant that foodstuffs such as sugar, coffee and cocoa became more widely available in Britain and were incorporated into popular recipes. Changes in tastes, patterns of consumption and cooking practices from the era are preserved in manuscript recipe books, bills of fare and household food accounts. 

Most of these manuscripts have been preserved within the papers of family estates of royalty and the aristocracy. Included among these are the kitchen accounts of the Coke family at Holkham Hall (Add MS 69991 C), household recipes of the Duchess of Marlborough within the Blenheim Papers (Add MS 61479), daily registers of bills of fare in the house of the Duke of Newcastle (Add MSS 33325–33336), and food accounts for Althorp House (Add MS 75762–75763). 

Manuscript recipe books were often kept by prominent women within the household who would have had oversight of the kitchens. These volumes often contain assorted collected recipes in multiple hands, reflecting a tradition of adding to family recipe books, an example being the recipe book of Anne Nicolson (Add MS 30244). Some manuscript recipe books are compendiums of collected recipes from multiple authors, such as the cookery recipe book containing recipes from Mrs. Bates, Mrs Burbidge, Mrs. Meymott and Lady Herness (Add MS 45931). 

Highlights 

• Accounts of the royal kitchen of George I of Great Britain Add MS 34761 

• Ledger detailing bills of fare tables of the royal household of George III at Richmond, 1765 Add MS 78545 

• Account book of the butcher for the Lamb family Add MS 83023 

• Table plans of bills of fare for the household of Thomas Pelham, 1st Earl of Chichester Add MS 33343 

• Book of household recipes for making preserves and confectionery, owned by Elizabeth Sloane Add MS 29739 

• Recipe book of the 18th century diarist Caroline Powys Add MS 42173 

• Recipe book kept at Chequers during the 18th century Add MS 69409 

• A commonplace book of Joanna Clay containing her recipes, laundry advice, and riddles Add MS 85471 

Culinary manuscripts: 19th–20th century

Recipe from Mrs Palmers’ recipe book, dated 1810: Add MS 46171, f 12r.

The 1800s saw vast industrial development across the UK, a rapidly growing population, technological advances in transport, food production and food preservation, as well as an ever-increasing volume of food being brought to Britain from across the British Empire and elsewhere. This increased the quality, quantity and diversity of food, which can be recognised in culinary manuscripts from the time. As well as a continuing presence of culinary manuscripts among the collections of aristocratic families and estates, such as those relating to Dropmore House (Add MSS 69259–69279), there are more manuscripts to be found among the papers of the growing middle-classes of the era. The collection also reflects the increasing literacy and survival of manuscripts left by domestic servants in the home with the papers of the housekeeper of Kew Palace (Add MS 62560) and later in the papers of Grace Higgens (Add MSS 83247–83253), domestic servant to the writer Vita Sackville-West. 

In the late 1900s and 20th century popular printed cookery books became increasingly available and the tradition of manuscript recipes started to decline. Some manuscript recipes drafted in the 20th century can still be seen in the collections, but they tend to be found among the personal papers of individuals recorded as notes, rather than as distinct manuscript cookery books created with the purpose of being a family resource through generations. As well as personal notes, insights into domestic cooking in the 20th century can be found in correspondence. The two world wars saw rationing as the availability of food declined and its impact is explored in letters such as those authored by Phyllis (Add MS 89076/1/4) and Ernest Gardner (Add MS 89076/2/1) during World War One in the Gardner Papers. Some collected recipes from the later 20th century are found in the archive papers of selected figures, including within the notebooks of the scientist Donald Mitchie (Add MS 88958/2/215) and the poet Kathleen Raine (Add MS 88766). 

Highlights 

• Mrs Evelyn's Wotton House account book of daily outgoings on food  Add MS 78564 

• Recipe book of Mrs Palmer, housekeeper at Gransden House, dated 1810-1829 Add MS 46171 

• William Henry Fox Talbot's food expenditure account book, 1833-1837 Add MS 88942/1/268 

• Accounts of the kitchen offices of Althorp House including the almonry, bakery, buttery, larder, spicery and wine cellar, dated 1854-1857   Add MSS 76681–76686 

• Late 19th-century commonplace book containing notes and cuttings of food and drink recipes Add MS 85455 

• Menu-book for home dinners of Sir William Schwenck Gilbert, including names of guests, 1903–1913 Add MS 49347 A-B 

• Recipes authored by the opera singer Bertha Lewis, early 20th century Add MS 89231/25/62 

• Powell family WWI rationing ephemera (within add Ms 89307, but need to find exact file) Add MS 89307/1/37 

• Wilson family WWII rationing ephemera Add MS 70670 A-D 

What is available in our Reading Rooms? 

Culinary manuscripts can be consulted in the Manuscripts Reading Room. Due to the 2023 cyber attack the online Archives & Manuscripts catalogue is not currently available, however, you can request items using the shelfmark details included in this blog post. Printed catalogues and handlists are available in our Reading Rooms, or you can also try searching the National Archives Discovery catalogue and filtering by “Other archives only”. View full details of the resources currently.   

Please contact the Manuscripts Reference Team for information about accessing restricted items. 

What is available in other organisations? 

• The Wellcome Collection holds a collection of domestic medicinal and culinary recipe manuscripts dating from the 16th–19th centuries. Many of these are available to view online 

• Leeds University Library holds many cookery manuscripts in its expansive Cookery Collection 

• The National Library of Scotland holds manuscript recipe books from the 17th century and many of them are available online 

• The Folger Shakespeare Library holds many early modern English manuscript recipe books. The Folder Library also hosts the Early Modern Recipes Online Collective (EMROC) 

By Jessica Gregory