Christmas Fare

After Christmas, advertisements, in the Gazette turned to the New Year.

There were also descriptions of Christmas celebrations at both Tiverton Hospital and the Poor Law Institution (Belmont Hospital, now part of Perryman Square).

At the Hospital it was ‘bright and gay with evergreens, flags and other decorations’. On Christmas day the patients had turkey and plum pudding as well as ‘a big tea party’ when family and friends were invited. There was an entertainment in the evening. More celebrations were promised when the Christmas tree was stripped a few days later.

At Belmont, the Christmas fare was ‘of a most substantial character’. On Christmas Day, breakfast was ham from one of their own pigs and dinner included roast beef and pork, cabbage and potatoes with plum pudding and beer. The tea comprised ‘cake, mincepies, jam tarts and a host of good things’. Oranges, tobacco and sweets were also given out. A radio was installed so that everyone could listen to a service from Canterbury Cathedral in the afternoon followed by a concert in the evening.

Both establishments invited local dignitaries to act as ‘carvers’.

Looking ahead to 1926, here are a few entries from our Archive collection which have a connection to the New Year.