BREAD and beer are once more officially in fine fettle at Ashburton following a tradition last weekend that dates back more than 700 years.
The ancient annual Ale Tasting and Bread Weighing Ceremony, organised by Ashburton Court Leet last Saturday, is normally held in July but Covid meant a delay to October this year.
Dressed in medieval garb the colourful procession, comprising the portreeve and his bailiff with court marshalls and constables, wound its way around the town from the St Lawrence Chapel start point and stopping at numerous hostelries and bakeries to sample and prove fit the produce.
Up until the time of the Magna Carta in AD1215 there was no check on the quality or price of bread and ale and Ashburton’s records of its ale tastes fining brewers for selling bad ale date back to the late 13th Century.
Brews were not only duly sampled by ale tasters Nick Laity and Tony Lewis – but sat upon too.
This ritual, involving leather breeches and a stool sees a small quantity of ale poured on a wooden bench with the ale taster then sitting on it to find out if it’s been adulterated by a unscrupulous landlords - breeches sticking to the bench means it hasn’t been watered down!
Fortunately all was well above board and the Ashburton’s innkeepers all received a sprig of evergreen to display as proof that they serve satisfactory ale.
Bread weighers Patricia Cook and Eileen Brewer ensured that the baked products were as wholesome as described with no artificial additives such as sawdust used to stretch out the more expensive ingredients.
‘This year’s ceremony was a little quieter with not as many taking part in the parade as normal,’ said John Nutley the town’s 1,199th and 1,200th Portreeve.
‘However, I was very pleased to see more people than we expected watching it and all of the weighed bread was auctioned off at the end of the day and raised £173 for my chosen charity The Bank Youth Project.’