Mrs Clements

Mrs Clements of Durham is not a household name, but the product she invented is.

1720

Saddler Street in Durham. Mrs Clements carried on her business in premises behind the buildings on the right.

Introduction

Mrs Clement’s innovative process for making hot mustard powder sparked welcome fresh business for farmers and potters in northeast England, and is the secret behind the famous Colman’s of Norwich - and their “bull’s head” logo.

by Clay Lane

IN 1390, Richard II’s chef included a recipe for mustard in his book The Forme of Cury.* Monks on Lindisfarne in Northumberland were grinding their own mustard a century later, and Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire was an early centre of the trade.

But in 1720, an entrepreneur from Durham named Mrs Clements developed a much hotter mustard, using techniques borrowed from flour mills. It so pleased the palate of King George I that it created a London fashion.

Durham farms now made a handsome income growing mustard as a crop, and pottery firms in nearby Gateshead were soon busy supplying jars.

Despite Mrs Clement’s attempts to keep her recipe secret, competitors sprang up immediately all over the country.

Her company, now named Ainsley’s after her son-in-law, was acquired by Colman’s of Norwich, and when Colman’s commissioned a new trademark in 1855, they acknowledged Mrs Clements by choosing the head of the famous Durham ox.

by Clay Lane

Includes information from The Northern Echo.

That is, ‘The Method of Cooking’, from French ‘cuire’, to cook.

Précis

Mrs Clements was a businesswoman from Durham who developed a strong mustard in the 1720s that won royal patronage and became fashionable, bringing prosperity to the North East but also competition. Her firm was later acquired by Colman’s of Norwich, and such was the association between Durham and good mustard that they branded their product with the Durham ox.

Jigsaws

Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.

Mrs Clements’s mustard was particularly hot. She ground the mustard like flour. Other makers did not.

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