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Posted by: admin	Tuesday, January 01, 2008
2008 has seen the opening exchanges in the Grasmere Gingerbread wars in our very own picturesque village. On one side is Sarah Nelsons Grasmere Gingerbread owned by the Wilsons, on the other side is one of the Grasmere cafes called Williams. Now I have been thinking about this subject over the New Year and thought we would do a taste test to see which side our palate would go for. So I went for a stroll with Luke in his pram around the village in order to compare Sarah Nelsons to one made by the cafe. I purchased some from Sarah Nelsons beautiful little shop, built in 1630 originally as the village school. The lady serving was in full costume and when you enter the shop it is like stepping back in time. As well as buying the gingerbread you can smell the fresh ginger bread being baked and read a little more about the life and times of Sarah Kemp, born in Bowness, who became Sarah Nelson and used to bake Gingerbread in her rented home of "Gate Cottage" from about 1850 onwards until she died at the age of 88. Nowadays the business is managed by Joanne Wilson whose parents own the shop. In Sarah Nelsons time, the gingerbread was wrapped up in pure vegetable parchment printed ‘None Genuine Without Trade Mark’, today it still bears that same inscription with greaseproof paper replacing the parchment. The gingerbread is sold in slabs of six or twelve, carefully wrapped and then popped in an equally well presented bag. You can also buy small tins and other decorative items to hold your gingerbread. You can only buy this gingerbread from the Grasmere shop, or via the shops website. There is no doubt that that the gingerbread, the shop, its historical connections and the way these traditions have been upheld, help, in their way to put Grasmere on the map. Many, many tourists know about this great local product. It has the support and praise of a lot of top profile chefs and celebrities and draws a considerable number of both of them to the village for a visit. So back to the comparison and off to one of the local cafes called Williams of Grasmere. They also make and have been selling gingerbread for at least the last seven years and now have a chalk board up announcing this fact. The cafe is a place that I have visited frequently with Luke, particularly when it was raining and was too wet for an extended walk. We would quite often end up here, he asleep, me with a coffee and a quick read of the papers. Whoops not this time though, new sign on the door, no pushchairs, hmmm, it's suddenly become a problem to bring small children into the cafe. Not too family friendly hey, but I guess infants don't spend much money and just take up space. Well I got the gingerbread, wrapped in a plain paper bag, dropped into an equally plain brown bag, but it was cheap and looked fine. It is a lot thicker and less uniform than Sarah Nelsons but it tasted good, nice and gingery. Cecilia said she preferred it, but I really like the taste of Sarah Nelsons gingerbread and still prefer that. Luke didn't get a vote but as he can't visit Williams cafe, I count that as 2 to 1 in our household. But what started the "war" was the application by the Wilsons (aka - Sarah Nelson) to trademark their Gingerbread as the only one that can use the words "Grasmere Gingerbread". Now you could argue that Sarah Nelson faced this problem before, and her solution was to print "her trademark" on the wrapper and let people know about it. If we move away from Gingerbread to sausages for a moment, Cumbria is trying to get European Union PGI protected status for the "Traditional Cumberland Sausage". Whilst this could be seen as a way to protect local (ie Cumbrian) interests it's also a way of protecting the integrity of the sausage, notably that it is long and coiled, sold by weight, has a wider diameter than average, a high meat content (of at least 80%) and is generally pink. The meat used must be pork which has been rough-cut, giving a coarse texture, and must be encased in natural pig intestines. The pork must not contain any skin, gristle, rind, offal or any form of mechanically recovered meat. Cumberland sausages also tend to be more highly seasoned that other sausages. In the UK today, currently, you can buy all sorts of sausages that claim to be "Cumberland Sausage", but in fact are a million miles away from this traditional product, with low %'s of meat, lots of filler and containing God knows what. So back to the gingerbread war. I come down firmly on the side of Sarah Nelsons application for a trademark for the words Grasmere Gingerbread. The reason in my mind is that the Wilson's business of running Sarah Nelson's Grasmere Gingerbread is genuinely preserving and keeping alive the traditions established by Sarah Nelson all those years ago. Aside from the shop in Grasmere, they work really hard at trade fairs presenting the "Grasmere Gingerbread" story, always in traditional costume. They have remained faithful to Sarah's original story (and recipe), this has an unquantifiable economic benefit to the village. It is a true local success story that they can rightfully claim to have been responsible for preserving. In other words it's the genuine article. As for the rest of the gingerbread in Grasmere, it may contain ginger and it may taste good, but in my book I'm not getting the genuine and full Grasmere Gingerbread experience, there is only one and it's much more than a recipe.The good thing is that with or without this trademark people are intelligent enough to recognise the real deal when they see it. - Martin To add a comment, please log on first. Or you can send an e-mail by clicking here to let us know your views.
Copyright ©2008 Martin Campbell

Comments (36) Add Comment

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....

By chefnick on Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Well I'm always up for a scrap,
I've been working in the Swan Hotel in grasmere all over christmas and new year and still to this day they have Sarah Nelsons gingerbread available for the customers and we regularly send our guests to the shop to purchase it for themselves,

i've seen this from the hotel for at least 25 years and long may it last,
the fact that someone else has come up with something similar is night and day to me,

I know from my own first hand that you can't compare the origional grasmere gingerbread to anything that you create yourself,

It's a part of the heritage of grasmere and I champion it as much as i can in my persute of local foods and suppliers,

If someone has come up with something that they think will stand alongside the origional recipe and success of the grasmere gingerbread,well good on them !!

But lets ask the thousands of Japanese, American, Spanish and all the rest of the common world who visit grasmere and Dove Cottage every year which one they prefer,

Please now let's behave ourselves,

Whatever next ??

Hawkeshead trout reared in preston, Borrowdale tea bread from Chester, Cumberland Sausage from Grand Canaria,

kendal mint cake made in the democratic republic of Korea,
Coniston Blue Bird brewed in Holland,

I know i Digress,

Let us do battle over the table,

sit down with a nice pot of tea with some close friends,

a munch on grasmere gingerbread and a brew,

Just remember " No PushChairs"

Nick....

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....	By admin on Thursday, January 03, 2008
After a little research on the Trademark website, I notice that an application was made in 2006 by a Cumbrian food business, who will remain nameless, to register the name "Grasmere Gingerbread". The application was withdrawn a month later. - Martin

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....

By CeciliaC on Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Well, according to the historian interviewed in the Westmorland Gazette, Sarah Nelson was not the first person (establishment) to make ginger bread in Grasmere, the tradition goes back quite a bit further. So I don't see why one company should be the only one allowed to benefit financially from this village wide heritage. Plus I preferred William's version. Set the Grasmere Ginger Bread free! People will buy the kind they like best, and we'll have a free market rather than a monopoly. Much healthier! - Cecilia

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....	By Anonymous on Thursday, January 03, 2008
Hands up all those who have preserved the tradition.... What if McVities up the road decided to mass produce "Grasmere Gingerbread", given the sucess and profile built up by Sarah Nelsons? There should be some sort of protection to prevent somebody from taking unfair advantage.

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....

By Anonymous on Thursday, January 03, 2008

Here is my pennys worth....

'Grasmere Gingerbread' is not what is sold in the 'Gingerbread Shop' - it's more like 'Grasmere Gingerbiscuit'.

The original Grasmere Gingerbread is given to the children who take part in the Rushbearing - and it has been given out for many many years.

I don't think you could challenge the 'Sarah Nelsons Grasmere Gingerbread' trademark - but I don't believe that 'Grasmere Gingerbread' belongs to Gerald Wilson !!

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....

By admin on Thursday, January 03, 2008

Below is a extract from a well known food blog - called Baking for Britain. (www.bakingforbritain.blogspot.com)

Grasmere is a small town within the very beautiful English Lake District, in the county of Cumbria. Cumbria was formed in 1974 from the old counties of Cumberland and Westmorland, and parts of Lancashire and Yorkshire. The food heritage of Cumbria is therefore also that of these older regions.

On the north-east coast not far from Grasmere are the ports of Whitehaven and Milnthorpe. From the 16th and 17th centuries both were involved in trade with the Caribbean. In the 18th century Whitehaven was the third largest port in Britain, only London and Bristol were larger. Spices, unrefined sugars and rum were brought to port, and these commodities became ingredients in the food of the region. Gingerbreads are made throughout the north of England, but what makes the gingerbread of Grasmere different is that it resembles a crumbly biscuit rather than a cake (or bread).

In 19th century Grasmere gingerbread was used as a payment to rush bearers (usually children) who furnished the local church of St. Oswald with rushes to cover the unpaved floor. When the floor was finally paved there was no longer a need for the rushes, but they were still brought into the church for decoration and for display at festivals. The gingerbread likewise became associated with special events in the church calendar, such as the feast of St. Oswald on August 5th.

The poet William Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, lived in Grasmere during the first years of the 1800s. Dorothy Wordsworth records in her journal a trip to buy gingerbread (an old-style blog!). The gingerbread for sale locally was available in either thin or thick forms; the Wordsworths set off to buy thick, but could only find thin (just an excuse to eat twice as much by my reckoning).

In 1854 a Grasmere lady by the name of Sarah Nelson started making her own version of gingerbread based on Lancashire recipes. She needed to boost her family's income, and decided that baking was the way forward (how right). Her (top-secret) recipe was a run away success and is still baked today and sold in the shop that Sarah set up. Sarah Nelson's name has become a trademark, and her gingerbread is probably the biscuit which most people think of when they think of Grasmere gingerbread. Even Tom Cruise has eaten it.

The oldest recorded recipes for Grasmere gingerbread make use of oatmeal or ground oats (a locally grown cereal).

_______________________________________________

It's clear that there was more than one type of Gingerbread in Grasmere in the 1850's, this is obvious from the need for Sarah Nelson to have a trademark. (Initially registered in 1892) The issue as I see it is how does a relatively small trader protect their business name and investment from being hijacked by somebody else. One way is via Trademarks, the other is using European legislation, ie the way of the Cumberland Sausage. As I see it the words Grasmere Gingerbread have today become synonomous with what is sold at the Gingerbread Shop. If you do a quick Google without exception when a visitor refers to getting Gingerbread in Grasmere, they refer to the cute little shop by the Church. So what is wrong with them trying to further protect their business. The Jumble Room calls its Gingerbread "Grasmere Rushbearing Gingerbread", this differentiates it from the Sarah Nelson type and their customers get the recipe that the Jumble Room considers appropriate. - Martin

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....	By Anonymous on Thursday, January 03, 2008
After watching the Border New article this evening it looks like Sarah Nelson took the receipe from a local hotel where she worked so it may turn out not to be hers after all

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....

By Anonymous on Thursday, January 03, 2008

I think it would be better all around if the person who has re-created grasmere gingerbread basicly called it something else,

like grasmere ginger cake, grasmere ginger snap, crunch,buscuit,
ginger bar, ginger crumble cake , etc, etc

thus creating a situation where there is'nt a monopoly on the recipe and the name,

I suppose it's a lot like the internet where no-one actually owns it,

I reckon there is enough business flowing through grasmere to feed all the traders there,

but the fact of the matter is that for the past 26 years I've only ever known grasmere gingerbread as the sarah nelson one,

it's not that i don't paricularly care where the origional idea came from or where she might have learned the concept of the recipe,

it's always been grasmere gingerbread to me,and i take that as a heritage thing,

"heaven help me", but lots of the recipes i have created and bang out on food festivals and live cooking shows are very rarely my own,

i've learned these ideas for foods and recipes from people and places i've working in and with over the past years,

imagine if i went and opened a fast food outlet selling burgers and chicken nuggets in kendal called mc donaldinos with a big golden M as my sign,

or if i created an information website called doogle,

now there's potential for a couple of good lawsuits,

I'm working in grasmere this weekend and i'm going to go and buy both gingerbreads,

sit down and have them with a cup of tea,

what's the worst that could happen ?

I might like them both !!

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....	By admin on Friday, January 04, 2008
Can anybody from Grasmere, (or who knows about it!) comment on the origin of Rushbearing Gingerbread and the recipe. As well as shed any light on the "thick and thin" varieties of Gingerbread that Wordsworth was looking for? - Martin

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....	By Anonymous on Friday, January 04, 2008
I think the 'thin' gingerbread is the Sarah Nelsons type, and the 'thick' is the traditional Grasmere Gingerbread that is still given to the childrean as part of the rushbearing event today. The genuine Grasmere Gingerbread served at the rushbearing has lettering stamped into - does anyone know what it says ? Or will I have to wait until August to find out ??

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....	By Anonymous on Friday, January 04, 2008
The Sarah Nelson type is not the original Grasmere Gingerbread others in the village make this. Why should Sarah Nelson be allowed a trademark for a product that they dont produce. There are original recipes dating as far back as 1645 well before Sarah Nelsons time.

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....

By admin on Saturday, January 05, 2008

Andy from the Jumble Room gave me a quick update regarding the Grasmere Rushbearing Gingerbread, as he has a recipe for this going back to 1745. The Rushbearing Gingerbread is given out at the end of rushbearing to all the children, it is normally stamped, and the stamp has the words St Oswalds on it. Chrissy and Andy made Gingerbread for the Rushbearing for a ten year period, and Chrissies family for the previous 30 years. The stamp they were given was originally made out of lead, so Andy made a new one. I am trying to track down the current stamp, so any information on this would be appreciated. - Martin

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....	By Anonymous on Saturday, January 05, 2008
A quick look at the trademark website shows that the Sarah Nelson version was trademarked in 1892 almost 150 years AFTER the Rushbearing version so how can the Wilsons claim they have the right to the trademark. If they did why have they not done it before now - if anyone has the rights to it it would be the Jumble Room as they have a recipe that predates the Wilsons version.

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....

By admin on Sunday, January 06, 2008

When you file for a trademark, the Intellectual property office decide if the application is to proceed on some basis. If it does, then it is published in the trademark journal and after that people can object to it, within some timeframe. The current application for the "Grasmere Gingerbread" is "Proceeding because of distinctiveness acquired through use" and has been published in a Trademark Journal in 2007. It is open to challenge via the Intellectual property office. The IP also covers trade secrets, plant varieties, geographical indications, performers rights and so on. If anyone objects to any published application, the case is then argued by the lawyers and experts in Trademarks and a final decision made at some point in time. - Martin

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....

By admin on Sunday, January 06, 2008

I have now tracked down the stamp used for the Gingerbread at Rushbearing time. It is in a cabinet on display at the Wordsworth Trust. There is a great display of all things Grasmerian!. There is a few pictures on the wall and some explanations of the tradition of handing out the Gingerbread. The picture from the 70's shows a Mrs Jane Dixon of Dixons bakery with stamp in hand and a fairly thick looking slab of baked Gingerbread in front of her. The text says that the slab is cut up into pieces 3 inches by 5 inches and stamped with the stamp. The Gingerbread is quite thick, and looks more sponge based than shortbread based. I now have three different basic recipes to try, each one a different type of gingerbread. This will be my last posting on this thread as I am going to move onto trying to make the stuff, seeing as everybody seems to have a go around here. I've just put some Tatie Pot in the oven, more on that one later, but it's smelling pretty good! - Am I allowed to make Cumberland Tatie Pot in what used to be Westmorland? :) - Martin

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....

By chefnick on Sunday, January 06, 2008

Now this is a Classic from the swan hotel in grasmere posted by my goodself on 3/11/06,

we have made this style of gingerbread to this recipe since I can remember,
I started making this recipe there in 1980 when i was a very young commis chef and i still use the same recipe where'ever i'm working and even at home because it works very well,

Gingerbread,

take,

1lb / 500g butter,

1lb / 500g caster sugar,

1lb / 500g golden syrup,

4 eggs,

1lb / 500g milk ( weighed on the scales )

24oz / 750g plain white flour ,

1oz / 30g ground ginger,

1/2 oz / 15g bicarbonate of soda,

place the butter,sugar and syrup into a bowl over a very slow simmering pan of water,

let them all melt together stirring often,

whisk the eggs and milk together,

sift the flour with the soda and ginger into the butter mixture,

fold in well and then fold in the eggs and milk,

pour into a deep baking tray lined with parchment paper,

bake @160c for 1 and a quarter hours until dark brown and smelling great,

leave it to cool completely,

carefully remove from the tray and wrap in parchment paper,

store in an airtight container for 2 days before eating it all and starting the recipe again,

Nick..

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....

By admin on Friday, January 11, 2008

I'm getting a few e-mails on this subject, so I have opened it up to post them here. I have also allowed "Anonymous comments" again for a while. - Here is a e-mail re: the above recipe. - Martin

The recipe given by Nick is for the rushbearing gingerbread

does any one have a recipe for the thin grasmere gingerbread favoured by William Wordsworth

will it be Kendal mint cake or Cartmel STP, next

Lucy

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....

By admin on Friday, January 11, 2008

This is an e-mail I received from Steve Bell - The owner of Williams in Grasmere. I am pleased he sent it and I'm particularly pleased about the new extension with a family area, maybe Luke will change sides! - Martin

_________________

I am Mr Bell from Williams

The recipe we use is an old family one as the Bells have been in this part of Cumbria for hundreds of years.

I have had a number of letters and e-mail's and a picture is emerging where Mr Wilson has suppressed the tradition of making Gingerbread in Grasmere by falsely sending out solicitors letters stating that he already owned the trade mark. Or even worse you get a visit!!! from him. I have letters showing these threats that go back over 30 years.

I have a lot of support from other producers and we are challenging this application as we believe that a trade mark is the wrong way to protect a regional food. If the Wilson's get this trade mark they can sell it and ludicrously the new owner could manufacture on a large scale and prevent it from being made in the village of its origin.

Part of our objection is the history and we can show that the biscuit type of Grasmere Gingerbread was made and sold well before Sarah Nelson; Sarah Nelson was just one who capitalised on the emerging tourist trade at that time. That is why she only trade marked ‘Sarah Nelson,’ as at that time other producers would have been very angry if she tried to commercialise the village name, for her own benefit.

We can also show that others have continued to make Grasmere Gingerbread and that the Wilson do not have 100% of the market.

I would welcome more entries on the history of Grasmere Gingerbread in the village, as part of the problem is the lack of local knowledge given that most the housing in Grasmere is second home even the two former bakers are now holiday homes. But I do have great support from a local food historian and his evidence strongly supports my argument.

Most frustrating is that this is being progressed in London, which is a shame as a local solution is available that would give the Wilson the protection they want while allowing the tradition to live on in the village. They should talk to me rather than use expensive solicitors, or take up our MP's offer of mediation.

As for push chairs, ours is a small café and we politely ask parents to leave the chairs outside and under cover. Most are pleased to do this. We also will be building an extension this year and the seating here will be aimed at familles.

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....

By Anonymous on Saturday, January 12, 2008

From Karen Hess, Martha Washington’s Booke of Cookery
( England, ca. 1625) Available from Amazon

"Take a gallon of ye purest honey & set it on ye fire till it boyle, then take it of & put into it allmoste halfe a pinte of good white wine vinegar, & it will make the scum rise yt you may take it of very clean. & when it is scumed put into it a quart of strong ale, & set it on the fire againe. then put in halfe a pound of ginger, halfe a pound or more of good licorish, halfe a pound of anny seeds, 6 ounces of red sanders. let all these be finely beat and searced and mingle them well together, and let ye spice boyle in it. then put in A peck of grated bread by little and little, and worke it well in. & then mould it in searced cinamon, of which you must allow halfe a pound to this proportion. when yo have worked it well together, then print or make it into what fashion you pleas."

It was originally made with oatmeal, which was the staple food of Westmorland. Later versions used flour, but it is still more like a shortbread than the traditional cake-type gingerbreads which are better known in the rest of the country.

Dorothy Hartley in her 1954 book ‘Food in England’ says that Grasmere gingerbread ‘is now made of fine wheat flour but was originally made with fine oatmeal, fat, sugar, syrup, ginger, cream of tartar and bicarbonate of soda’.

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....	By Anonymous on Saturday, January 12, 2008
Having tried both gingerbreads I must say the one from Williamas seemed far superior to me. It tasted better and had a nicer texture. Sarah Nelson`s might be more traditional but both are made in Grasmere so surely both can be called "Grasmere Gingerbread".

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....	By Anonymous on Sunday, January 13, 2008
The Wilson's have been using bully boy tactics for years against people in the village and the rest of Cumbria so its about time that someone called thier bluff. People should boycott buying thier version of Grasmere Gingerbread.

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....

By Anonymous on Monday, January 14, 2008

I was under the impression that if an item had a place name as its title it was not, in general, allowed to be trademarked under this name... (Is this why Sarah Nelson's Grasmere Gingerbread has been trademarked with the name Sarah Nelson in front of it?) That being the case the Sarah Nelson Grasmere Gingerbread would not be able to be trademarked as 'Grasmere Gingerbread' as this would indicate that all gingerbread made in Grasmere would be expected to be of the same style. Perhaps someone could clarify this for me?

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....

By Anonymous on Tuesday, January 15, 2008

To get the trade mark for a village name they would have to have made a legal statement to the IPO, that the name is only associated with their product and that they have 100% of the market.

Knowing Grasmere I fined it incredible that they have got this far as the village has an association with gingerbread that is linked to the church and its ceremonies.

Grasmere Gingerbread as a descriptive name is well documented and goes back hundreds of years, well before Sarah Nelson.

I know of at least 6 other producers and some of these have a good internet trade.

Also look at the bigger picture as Cumbria has a historical association with ginger due to early trade with the West Indies through ports like Whitehaven.

It is also very simple to fined recipes in established cook books the best with the history is English Food by Jane Grigson and its only a few pounds on Amazon

I for one will be watching this with interest as it would be unfair should this monopoly of a village legacy be granted.

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....	By Anonymous on Wednesday, January 16, 2008
They are doing it purely for thier own personal gain. They were attempting to get the trademark without people finding out, once they had it they would have tried to put everyone out of business. How Made in Cumbria allow one of its members to do this is beyond me.

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....	By Anonymous on Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Most of these comments are a great help will the editor please review his initial comment as a true picture emerges.

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....	By Anonymous on Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Has anyone any idea how long it will take for the authorities that be to make their decision?

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....

By admin on Wednesday, January 16, 2008

With the opportunity to discuss this subject with a variety of people in Grasmere, visiting the Grasmere exhibition and conducting my own research, I have re-considered where I stand on it.

I am still in favour of some sort of protection for "Grasmere Gingerbread", however I would prefer to see this achieved by interested parties persuing the EU protected geographical indication, with the geographic limitation being Grasmere.

I have invited Sarah Nelson's to comment on the issues raised in the blog, but to date I have not received a public or private reply. I will post their reply if any is received. I still think that it is reasonable for a small business to try to protect what it considers to be its rights/assets, just as it is the right of others to challenge them when they do that. I have a preference for open discussion and reasoned argument as the best way of securing agreement or resolutions to sticky issues.

As for my taste buds, they are sticking to their guns!

Martin

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....	By Anonymous on Thursday, January 17, 2008
it could take as long as 6 months as it is decided in london, not locally. Maybe the MP Tim Farron will come up with a local solution.

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....	By Anonymous on Friday, January 18, 2008
This comment has been removed by the editor. If the person who made the comment wishes to re-instate it, please register, log on and add your comment. I am now removing the possibility of adding anonymous comments again, so any further comments will be attributed to your username as mine are. - Martin

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....

By admin on Friday, January 25, 2008

I had a reply from Sarah Nelsons regarding "Grasmere Gingerbread", an extract is below.
_______________________

As you are aware we do not acknowledge any other commercially used recipe that is claiming to be 'Grasmere Gingerbread', thus trading on the back of our long established world wide reputation.
We hope you understand that the unscrupulous 3rd party mis-use is currently being dealt with legally.
__________________

- Martin

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....

By admin on Saturday, January 26, 2008

Below is an e-mail that Steve Bell has sent me and asked to put on the blog.

_____________________________________________

You did well to get even that curt reply from the Wilson’s, the normal tactic is to send out scary legal letters claiming they already own the trade mark.

Well we have shown that they do not own the term ‘Grasmere Gingerbread’ but do own ‘Sarah Nelson’ as that was registered over a hundred years ago. Their product is recognised under the brand Sarah Nelson and that should be sufficient as Grasmere is associated with many things from Wordsworth to its stunning beauty, as well as its long association with gingerbread, hence the term Grasmere Gingerbread that describes a type of biscuit with its historical roots in the village of Grasmere.

My research has produced a comprehensive history of Grasmere Gingerbread that pre-dates the Sarah Nelson version and a quick search will show that they are not the only producer.

There is little doubt that they are seeking to monopolise this regional food as the trademark would be very valuable and would allow them to sell on the product to a big producer, if they so wished.

This is not an attempt to protect a local product as ludicrously if sold the new owner could prevent Grasmere Gingerbread from being made in its village of origin.

I have another 6 weeks to send my evidence of to London and we are fairly confident that a true and honest history can be presented by me and a gathering number of producers and supporters.

Can I thank you for running the web page as it gives me a chance to explain my position and make you readers aware of what is going on.

Once my evidence is complete and sent of I will make a copy available to anyone who is truly interested and at the end of this I intend to compile it in a book that we will sell for a local charity.

Any more entries on memories of Grasmere Gingerbread would be great as someone keeps tearing down the posters I put up asking for these memories.

I will keep making my Grasmere Gingerbread to my grannies recipe as after 27 years in the services I have faced up to some fairly big bullies in my time.

Steve Bell
_______________________________________

The reply I received from "Sarah Nelsons" was polite and not curt, it covered a couple of other unrelated issues, so I chose just to use an extract of the relevant point in the reply that addressed the "Grasmere Gingerbread" issue. - Martin

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....	By bell42l on Sunday, January 27, 2008
There is a great recipe in the letters page of the Westmorland Gazette ( page 15) Another Recipe. Enid J Wilson wrote for the guardian, therefore this is yet another credible source to put forward with my opposition. There may also be an article in next Saturdays Telegraph as this story is starting to attract national interest.

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....	By bell42l on Saturday, February 16, 2008
Yet again another good letter in the Westmorland Gazette this week (Feb. 15th) the writer makes a good point as part of my objection is a long list of regional gingerbread none of which are trade marked. As for progress we will shortly send off the evidence that supports my opposition and I feel that its completeness my encourage dialogue to reach a local solution to this problem.

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....	By bell42l on Saturday, February 16, 2008
I have compiled a very comprehensive list of regional gingerbreads from the Orkneys down to Redruth. If any readers know of any could they send them into this site thanks.

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....	By admin on Thursday, February 21, 2008
I'm sure you have picked this one up, but here is a link to a good site which may be able to help you further. It might be worth asking the person who blogs for contributions. http://bakingforbritain.blogspot.com/2007/10/broonie-orkney-gingerbread.html You probably won't get much of a response now to this item as it has scrolled off the list and can only be viewed via the archive. Martin

Re: Grasmere Gingerbread war....	By Anonymous on Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Hello all, Someone in this blog had posted an old Grasmere Gingerbread recipe...one of the ingredients being 'syrup.' Can anyone tell me exactly what kind of syrup would have been used for this recipe...that is before the invention of golden syrup in the 1880's? I've found a number of Cumbria/Lancashire gingerbread recipes that simply list 'syrup' as an ingredient. Thanks kindly, john

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