Mardler February 2019 JS

Local History
There have been statutes in England governing the
quality of food and drink sold in the shops since Norman
times and laws governing the standardisation of weights
and measures. New laws have been passed every
generation since the Middle Ages to stop the practices
that cheated the public or poisoned them.
The adulteration of food, contamination by poor storage
and appalling hygiene came to a head in Victorian times
when the government tried hard to stamp out the
commonest practices. In 1834, statutory Inspectors of
Weights and Measures were established, who had the
power to enter premises and check out what was going
on in the local butchers, bakers and grocers. Curiously
they were allowed to charge the shops they inspected a
few shillings for the privilege, as well as getting a fee
from the council. The Privy Council estimated in 1862 that
one-fifth of butcher's meat in England and Wales came from
animals that were ‘considerably diseased’ or ‘had died of
pleuro-pneumonia, and other nasty diseases.’
Butcher’s shop, late 19 th century.
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