View of Mow Cop from Harriseahead

Our first extract from W J Harper’s book A Short History of Mow Cop, posted on January 23rd, gave an account of the mystery surrounding Mow Cop Castle.

In this edited extract Harper describes the wayside bread-baking ovens which existed in the district during the 19th century.

Wayside Bread-Baking Ovens on Mow Cop Hill

Wayside bread-baking ovens are rapidly becoming extinct.

In the past, when housewives made and baked their own bread, it was common practice in hilly districts, such as Mow Cop, to build a bread-baking oven near to groups of cottages.

The last surviving oven on the slopes of Mow Cop was situated in the wall next to the Wesleyan Chapel at The Bank, a hamlet on the Cheshire Dip of the North Staffordshire Coalfield.

It was the custom among local housewives to bake in turns or on fixed days.

At one time the ovens were heated with chunks of wood but later a mixture of coal and wood was used to heat them.

After the oven had been sufficiently heated, the fire was scraped out and pushed under the cavity beneath the oven mouth. This was a dirty job which had to be done in all weathers on the day set aside for baking or the family would have no bread to eat. After the fire had been scraped out, the oven was cleaned with a damp mop and the bread put in with all possible speed.

The oven had a loose iron door, which did not always fit when put up to the mouth. To keep the heat in, while the bread was baking, housewives used moistened clay to fill the gaps.

While writing this book, I met a woman, well advanced in years, who could remember her mother sending her to get clay from distant parts of the hill on baking day.

Harper – A Short History of Mow Cop 1907

Photograph Copyright David Martin – The Phoenix Trust 2010