Description:Amongst the account books for Trentham Hall during the later seventeenth century is a volume of accounts kept by the Housekeeper and Butler at the Hall. The image above is an extract from this volume, listing provisions ordered for Trentham Hall in April 1682. The accounts were entered weekly, and the extract above is for the weekly expenses from the 15th to the 22nd April 1682.
Provisions ordered by the Housekeeper are listed at the top of the page. These include food, mainly meat, and necessities like candles. For the week in question the Housekeeper ordered beef, mutton, rabbits, ducks and bacon. As well as meat, dairy products feature, including ‘Yeare old Cheese’. Staple provisions like salt, sugar and candles are also listed.
The Butler’s accounts are listed underneath the Housekeeper's. They consist mainly of alcoholic beverages including ‘Table Beere’, ale, ‘Clarrett’, sherry, and ‘Sydor’.
The account book features similar entries for each week, with the Housekeeper ordering meats and dairy products and the Butler being responsible for the provision of beverages. The type of drink ordered by the Butler varied, some weeks brandy and ‘London Clarrett’ were ordered. Similarly, the Housekeeper’s meat order varied in type and quantity. ‘Turkies’ make an appearance in the listings for some weeks.
The household accounts for Trentham Hall during this period provide an insight into the type and amount of food being consumed at Trentham Hall at the end of the seventeenth century. Vegetables and dairy products such as milk may have been produced in the Hall’s gardens and dairy house and supplied to the Housekeeper as required.