COLL BUT 02

Reference code

COLL BUT 02

Title

Buttery books

Level

Sub-series

Date

1697 - 1835

Extent & medium

34 items

Content description

These books, probably survivors of a larger class, are the linear successors to COLL BUT 01, showing the amount of bread and beer consumed and remaining in College week by week. However, they are more detailed, listing the Provost, Vice-Provost, Fellows and Head Master individually, as well as scholars, strangers, servants and the various tradesmen or craftsmen requiring feeding on particular occasions. Bevers (the afternoon bread and beer), patchbeer and brewingbread [possibly yeast] are also listed. Servings were in messes of four and the number of messes at prandium (dinner) and cena (supper) are given. Totals of bread and beer supplied and remaining every week were replaced after 1811-12 by notes of brewings and from 1832 an annual summary is found at the end. The weeks are still numbered within the quarter, the first of which now begins in December not September, and the week runs from Friday to Friday. Contemporary labelling calls a volume running from, for example, December 1824 - December 1825 simply 1825, although the text may have the correct year. Those volumes bound in brown paper or old leases have contemporary titles and are presumably fair copies, but a number of larger format volumes in plain paper, some of which have dates in a 20th century hand, are probably drafts.

A fragment of the buttery books, dated 29th July 1743, was used to mount FDA-E.624-2013.