History Task
Click HERE for a printable version of this task
Today we are going to travel back in time and look at the History of British food and how it developed over the years in Britain.
During our previous History tasks, we explored food rationing and found out about the types of food people ate during World War 1.
Today we are going to be finding out about the history of food in Britain and how it changed and developed over the years.
Our History focus today is:
To use a timeline within a specific time in history to set out the order things may have happened.
We are going to look specifically at the food store Marks and Spencers, a British retailer that specialises in selling clothing, home products and food products.
M&S was founded in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer in Leeds.
Marks and Spencer, known as “Marks and Sparks”, or “M&S”, made its reputation in the early 20th century with a policy of only selling British-made goods. It worked with British manufacturers, and sold clothes and food under the “St Michael” brand, which was introduced in 1928. The brand honours Michael Marks. It also accepted the return of unwanted items, giving a full cash refund if the receipt was shown, no matter how long ago the product was purchased, which was unusual for the time.
M&S began selling Christmas cakes and Christmas puddings in 1958. In an effort to improve the quality of their Swiss rolls, they hired the food expert Nat Goldberg, who made a major improvement across their entire cake range. As a later measure to improve food quality, food labelling was improved and “sell by dates” were introduced between 1970 and 1972.
Look at the timeline HERE of the history of British food at Marks and Spencers.
Hi Miss,
I am going to send in a photo of my work.
1927-
Ice cream counters opened in stores.
1931-
Food departments opened in all M&S stores.
1934-
Started selling cooked meats, pies, cheese and bacon.
1935-
First M&S cafe was open in a small number of stores.
1933-
Percy pigs were born with over ONE BILLION SOLD ( there my favourite)
Well done Ethan 🙂 I like Percy pigs too!
I am going to send a photo of my work.
Hi Miss, I am sending a picture of my work.
Great timeline Clemence, you have presented your work neatly. Did you enjoy finding out about the history of food at Marks and Spencer?
A clear timeline Helena, you have included all of the important parts!
Well done for completing your timeline Julian, did you find History interesting today?!
Good work Ophelia!
Well done Orla, you have created a detailed timeline! I’m glad you had some help from your sister 🙂
A great effort with your timeline Sebastian, did you enjoy finding out about how food developed over the years?!
Hello Miss. I am sending my timeline now. Thanks
Well done Chloe K for completing your timeline, I am glad you found it interesting! 🙂
hi Miss
I have sent you a picture of my work
Super timeline Penelope, I like that you’ve added in some drawings too!
I have done it
I learned so many interesting new facts about M&S, such as the introduction of « sell by dates », and the fact until the 1960´s, the only chickens you could buy in supermarkets were frozen, thank you Miss Jones. The Marble Arch branch certainly has changed!
Yes so interesting isn’t it Mrs Casey! 🙂
Hello Miss Jones.
It was in 1955 that it was first announced that Liverpool Corporation was intending to build the new reservoir in the Tryweryn valley, drowning the village of Capel Celyn, north of Bala.
Interesting fact Matthias!
Hi Miss Jones, can you tell me how to send a picture of my work please?
Holly
Hi Holly, yes of course – if you click on this link you can upload it there.
https://www.stvincentsprimary.org.uk/news/sharing-photos-and-files/
Hi miss ,I will send u the timeline.
Well done Emi for completing your History work, your pictures are great! Next time when creating a timeline, remember to draw a line to show clearly the order of events that happened.
Good effort Louis, tell me more about the topic of your timeline 🙂 Don’t forget to include key dates.
Great timeline Celestine, it is very clear and well presented.
Great timeline Chloe H, your work is very well presented!
Good effort Matthias, did you find it interesting finding out about the food changes in Marks and Spencer?
Yes, I did enjoy. I did some further research and I found some interesting facts regarding history of food. I learned that some foods have been introduced by invaders.
AD 43–400
ROMAN PERIOD
The Romans brought a variety of exotic foods to Britain, including game (rabbits, pheasants), vegetables (cabbage, leeks, onions, turnips), fruit (grapes) and nuts (walnuts). They also introduced herbs and flavourings such as garlic, pepper, basil and thyme.
400–1485
MIDDLE AGES
Sugar was discovered by western Europeans during the Crusades, with the first recorded sugar in Britain noted in 1099. It remained an expensive luxury until the 18th century.
The Normans invaded not only Britain but also its eating habits! They encouraged the drinking of wine and even gave us words for common foods – mutton (mouton) and beef (boeuf) for example. In the 12th century the Crusaders were the first Britons to taste oranges and lemons whilst in the Holy land.
1485–1603
TUDOR PERIOD
The first written record of turkeys being raised in Britain dates to 1541, and the earliest potatoes were brought to Europe in about 1570 by Spanish explorers. Widespread eating of rice only started in the 15th century, usually in the form of a pudding.
1603–1714
STUART PERIOD
Surprisingly, despite the Crusaders, the sweet orange was unknown in Europe until the end of the 15th century, when orange trees were first brought to the Mediterranean area. Coffee and tea were widely available to buy as an expensive delicacy by the mid-17th century.
This is very interesting information Clemence, well done for researching and sharing these facts!
Well done Jiana for completing your timeline 🙂
Very neat timeline Karolina! Well done 🙂
A good try at completing your timeline Eugenia, you have included lots of the key events.