Presents a study of the household affairs - as they relate to the consumption of food and drink - of the Willoughby family of Wollaton Hall in Nottingham and Middleton Hall in Warwickshire. Drawing upon the household accounts, this book describes the patterns of food purchasing, whether from markets and merchants or from the family's own estates.

There was a great deal going on in the Tudor kitchen: styles of cookery were altering, new foodstuffs were being added to the national shopping basket, both from our European neighbours and from new territories and discoveries overseas.A series of chapters treats the main categories of foods: grains, meats, fish, fruit and vegetables. There is discussion of drinks, whether wine or beer (particularly the shift from ale to beer as the standard beverage). There is an account of the strategies of purchase, preservation and storage of foods, of the kitchen equipment, and of the kitchen staffing and operation. And there is an account of the family of Willoughby itself, whose great house at Wollaton survives as the museum of the City of Nottingham. "Plenti and Grase" will appeal to historians and general readers interested in Tudor England; to culinary historians interested in the development of the modern kitchen; to local students wishing to discover more about Midland history; and anyone curious about how these great houses were run, and the life that went on inside their walls.

CONTENTSPart One: IntroductionChapter 1: Subject and SourcesChapter 2: Family and HouseholdPart Two: Provisions and ProvisioningChapter 3: GrainsChapter 4: MeatChapter 5: FishChapter 6: Fruit and VegetablesChapter 7: SundriesPart Three: Keeping, Cooking and ConsumingChapter 8: StorageChapter 9: Kitchens and CooksChapter 10: ConsumptionConclusion: Beyond the Household