From gathering around prehistoric hearths to dining in modern restaurants, sharing food has remained at the heart of British social life. The story of British cuisine spans millennia, with each era introducing new ingredients, flavours, and dining customs that have shaped the nation’s relationship with food.
The Romans brought with them a collection of exotic foods, while exploration of new parts of the world during Early Modern times led to imports of foods such as potatoes, chocolate, and sugar. And, of course, other factors, such as wealth and status played a role in what people ate, too.
While it’s impossible to cover the entire history of food in Britain, below are some highlights, offering some interesting insights into the food on our plates today.
What can research tell us about food history?
Before exploring the history of food in Britain, you might wonder how archaeologists can work out what people ate thousands, or even hundreds, of years ago. Luckily, there are plenty of resources that can help us understand more about how our ancestors sustained themselves.
Naturally, remains found at archaeological sites, such as pottery, animal bones, and preserved food samples, can tell us a lot about human eating habits. And, besides this, some of the most direct pieces of evidence include human bones, teeth, and waste.
For example, tooth decay can indicate a high intake of sugar or starchy crops; while hard, gritty foods can wear teeth down gradually over time. Teeth can be a particularly useful source of information because, before toothbrushes were invented, dental plaque, which can preserve tiny fragments of food, was common.
Scientists can also learn about diet by measuring carbon and nitrogen levels in human bones – offering clues as to whether a person ate mostly fish and meat, or had a vegetarian diet.
On rare occasions, when a body has been preserved in ice or by mummification, stomach contents can also survive. For example, Otzi, a Bronze Age man whose mummy was discovered in an Alpine glacier, had last eaten preserved goat meat!
The history of food in Britain
The Stone Age (15,000-2500 BC) – from hunter-gatherers to the first domestic animal
During the Stone Age (15,000-2500 BC), humans were hunter-gatherers and had to find or catch everything they ate. Living nomadic lives, communities would move from place to place in search of their next meal. This made food the focal point of life – something which only changed when humans began to farm.
We know from research that communities hunted with sharpened sticks, later using bows and arrows, and spears tipped with bone or flint. They’d gather nuts, fruit, and fish with nets and harpoons, too. According to historians, climate change during the Stone Age caused animal life in Britain to go through several significant changes – with everything from mammoths and reindeer to hyenas and hippos roaming here at some point.
But, after the last Ice Age ended, around 13,000 BC, the British climate became similar to what we know today, with forests full of foxes, wolves, and red squirrels. Many of the birds, fish, and shellfish that we have today existed, too – so people had a wide range of food to eat.
Around 4000 BC, the first domestic animals and plants were brought to Britain from the Continent – heralding the Neolithic period of the Stone Age (4000-2200 BC). As well as keeping domesticated animals such as pigs, sheep, and cattle, people began growing and cultivating crops such as barley and wheat. Though, the hunting of wild animals and gathering of foods such as berries, plants, and mushrooms continued.
By the late Neolithic period (3000-2200 BC), people in Britain had been farming for over 1,000 years and research suggests that raising domestic animals for meat and milk was one of the key elements of their diet and economy. Feasting was also a key part of life – often involving long-distance travel, magnificent ceremonies, and large helpings of food.
The Bronze Age and Iron Age (2200 BC - 43 AD) – the formalisation of farming
Some of Britain’s earliest permanent farming fields were created during the Bronze Age (2200-800 BC), as communities began cultivating a greater variety of crops and vegetables.
Some of the crops grown would have included peas, beans, and spelt wheat – with tools like sickles (hand-held tools) being used to harvest. Evidence from archaeological sites suggest that people consistently enjoyed meals like porridge and honey for breakfast and beef or fish for dinner, too.
At the end of the Bronze Age and the early Iron Age (1000-600 BC), large midden (waste) sites were created by people to discard waste from feasts across Wales and southern England. Luckily, many still survive today and can offer valuable insights into people’s eating habits – often containing ash, pottery, and food remains. For example, over 134,000 animal bones have been found in just a small part of a midden site excavated at Potterne, Wiltshire.
Archaeologists have often discovered fragments of highly decorated cauldrons and pottery in midden sides, suggesting that how food was displayed and styled was an important part of feasting during this era. It’s also likely that sharing food from such containers may have been a way of negotiating alliances and friendships within communities.
During the Iron Age (800 BC – 43 AD), farms also became more formal, with people laying boundaries around their fields with fences.
The Roman period (43-400 AD) – the introduction of new, exotic foods
In 43 AD, the Romans set foot in Britain, marking the beginning of an almost 400-year long Roman Britain. The Roman Empire was arguably the most powerful and developed society at the time, and they soon spread their way of life around Britain – including in agriculture and food.
The Romans brought with them many new and exotic foods. Many of these were fruits and vegetables, which remain part of our modern diet today: cabbages, onion, asparagus, grapes, turnips, leeks, cucumbers, figs, and cherries – to name a few! Historians widely agree that the introduction of grapes created the wine industry in Britain.
Many of these fruits and vegetables began being successfully grown in Britain, gradually revolutionising the diets of people in small towns and growing cities. According to historians, market gardens and orchards growing cash crops became a common sight.
New farm animals, such as rabbits, chickens, and white cattle were also introduced, as meat was more widely consumed. The average size of cattle increased during this time – with beef becoming the favourite meat of the army responsible for building Hadrian’s Wall. Large quantities were served to those at the Wall Forts!
The Romans also introduced many nuts, seeds, and several herbs and spices, like mint, rosemary, garlic, and coriander, previously unknown in Britain. They were very fond of shellfish too, particularly oysters, and some of the seafood supplies from coastal Britain became highly prized – even in Rome.
In 410 AD, after 400 years of domination, Roman rule in Britain ended. While the Romans took some of their culinary traditions with them, their impact on several areas, including agriculture and food variety, remained.
The Middle Ages (400-1485) – a high-carb diet
The staple foods of the Middle Ages largely consisted of bread and cereal – with the poor eating mainly barley, oats, and rye, while wheat was reserved for the rich. Rice and potatoes were also introduced later but didn’t become widespread until after the 1530s.
For most medieval people, diets tended to be high-carbohydrate – based mostly on cereals and alcohol (which was preferred to water!). Historians estimate that, around the ninth century, up to three-quarters of people’s diet was based on cereals. At this point, meat wasn’t readily available to the lower classes – however, this did change after the Black Death (1346-1353) wiped out significant portions of the population.
Food was a key marker of social status in medieval Britain, and while the lower classes made do with barley bread and beans, nobles would often enjoy fresh meat seasoned with exotic spices. It was generally believed that a noble had a more refined digestive system than a labourer!
Food was served on plates or in stew pots and eaten using either a spoon or bare hands. Though, it was common for poorer households to eat straight off the table. Check out this list of 11 recipes from the Middle Ages from the British Museum to get more of a taste of what the food was like.
Tudor England (1485-1603) – wider availability of meat and the sugar craze
By Henry VIII’s reign (1509-1547), the price of meat had fallen significantly, meaning the average Tudor family could afford it. According to historians, the Tudors ate a much wider variety and amount of meat than we do today (including calves, rabbit, badger, and ox) – and most peasants had small plots of land to keep chickens and pigs.
Fresh and more expensive meat, however, such as swan, peacock, venison, and wild boar, was a luxury of the royal court. As English political theorist Thomas Starkey described, “If they [the nobles and many of their servants] do not have 20 varied meat dishes at dinner, they consider themselves slighted.” Mealtimes in the Tudor court were just as much about displaying monarchical power than the food eaten.
Bread remained a diet staple in Tudor England, and was eaten by everyone at most meals. The Tudors also ate more fresh fruit and vegetables than is commonly thought, including pears, plums, cherries, onions, and carrots. Some fruit was also preserved in syrup – including seville oranges imported from Portugal.
Towards the end of the Tudor period, during Elizabeth I’s reign (1558-1603), several new vegetables, including beans, peppers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and maize, had been introduced as a result of exploration of the Americas. Most significantly, sugar began to be imported in larger quantities.
Along with herbs, sugar was considered medicinal, and people were encouraged to eat it for health reasons. It’s no coincidence that dental health deteriorated significantly after the 15th century! Famously, Queen Elizabeth herself succumbed to the sugar craze, with one historical account describing the 65-year-old queen in 1599…“Her lips narrow and her teeth black…a defect the English seem subject to, from their great use of sugar.”
Water was still considered unhealthy and unsafe for drinking in Tudor England, so most people drank ale (including children!). The rich also drank wine, which was imported in larger quantities during this period.
Stuart England (1603-1714) – more New World discoveries
During the Stuart period in England, people’s diets changed in several ways, as increased contact with Asia, Africa, and the New World introduced new foods and drinks.
Scepticism towards New World foods, including potatoes and maize, also began to soften and they became more widely used. New drinks, like tea, coffee, and drinking chocolate, increased in popularity.
Towards modern times…
Over the course of the last 300 years, a great range of foods have become available in Britain. In fact, some of the most popular foods that we enjoy today have only become part of the British diet relatively recently…including broccoli (1700), tomatoes (1750), chocolate bars (1847), and baked beans (1886)!
Final thoughts…
For further reading, head over to the history section of our website. Here, you’ll find information on everything from historic sites to visit in the UK and abroad to tips on tracing your family tree.
What’s your favourite period of history? Has anything in this article surprised you? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.