Proof of black pudding birthplace is back home in Bury
A long-lost sign marking the birthplace of Bury’s famous black pudding has been returned to its home – from Yorkshire.
Historians believe the town’s first black pudding was made and sold at Casewell’s on Union Street in 1810.
The shop was just an ordinary terrace house displaying the Lancashire delicacy in its window and the pudding were made there until it was demolished in 1968.
The well-known sign above its entrance was thought to have been lost after the shop and other buildings in the town centre street were torn down.
But bosses at Bury Art Museum received a phone call from a woman who bought it at auction in Richmond, North Yorkshire, in 2002 – and who has now offered to donate it to them.
It emerged the sign had been saved by a shop owner on Union Street and taken by him to Harrogate – before it was sold on.
Bury hosts the annual World Black Pudding Throwing Championships – where competitors hurl the snack at Yorkshire puddings. The proud association led museum chiefs to enlist the help of specialists to restore the sign to its former glory and it is now set to go display.
Museum curator Susan Lord said: “The phone call to us was completely unexpected. The lady rang to ask if we wanted to take the sign. We are just delighted to have it back in Bury.
“Because the sign was considered of significant historical importance, the museum decided to have it restored. Half of the restoration cost was very kindly met by the Bury Black Pudding Company. In return for the help received, Bury Art Museum is lending the sign to the company and it will be on display in their foyer for the next three years. The sign will then be put on display in the museum.”
The shop’s last owner was Vincent Ashworth, who made black puddings there until it was demolished.
His daughter Betty Ashworth, now 73 and living in Tottington, Bury, was brought up in the shop and was present at the sign’s unveiling.
Susan added: “Betty doesn’t remember what happened to the sign but she was intrigued to hear of what happened to it. The sign has a real history to it and it will be a welcome addition to the town because Bury is well-known for its black puddings.”
?Black pudding, made with pig or cattle blood, are a delicacy all over the world but in Lancashire, legend has it that during a War of the Roses battle soldiers hurled food – white puddings for Yorkshire and black puddings for Lancashire – at each other when ammunition dried up.
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