The history of the English picnic

I threw a picnic in our garden the other day. We were busy with all sorts of things, so it seemed to be a good idea to have a picnic as our lunch. It saved me from having to cook something and we also saved time as we didn’t have to travel anywhere. So we just enjoyed the good weather and relaxed for a while.

Interestingly enough, we enjoyed it big time in spite of being in our own garden. And as we enjoyed all the food, I recalled a You rang, M’lord? episode.

“A Day In The Country” – that was the title of the episode when Lord Meldrum took his staff for a picnic so that he could meet Lady Agatha who equally organised a day out for their staff as a treat. Lord Meldrum’s cook, Mrs Lipton packed a scrumptious picnic packed in several wicker baskets that took several turns to get to the car. The hall boy, Henry made a comment:

“It’s funny to take so much stuff just to eat on the grass. We could take it only to the front garden.”

Actually, Henry had a point.

I then also recalled Queen Victoria in the film Victoria and Abdul where she points at a spot on a hilltop in stormy winds choosing the perfect spot where she wants to have the table set for a picnic.

It appears that picnics were loved by the upper class, however eating outdoors wasn’t the privilege of the wealthy.

Eating outdoors

Eating outdoors have always existed: think about the huntsmen on horseback who got their lunch taken to them, or about day-labourers who had their packed lunch out in the fields. The Cornish pasty which was designed so that miners could have it still warm and by using their dirty hands, could also be mentioned.

These outdoor meals, however, could not be called picnic yet. Even outdoor feasts during the renaissance period that were enjoyed by aristocracy – In England that would have been desserts consumed in the so called banqueting house in the garden- wouldn’t count as picnic.

Although the picnic we know today appears to be very English, in reality it has French roots. The word “pique-nique” dates from 1692 when in the book of Origines de la Langue Française it describes a group of people dining in a restaurant who brought their own wine. The word also refers to an indoor meal where everybody contributed with a dish.

How the picnic got to Britain

The French Revolution played a key part in the picnic coming to Britain. French aristocracy fled to England where they carried on with their traditions. The London Pic Nic Society founded in 1801 by French settlers asked members to bring a dish and six bottles of wine to their theatre and dining events.

Eating outdoors as a pastime became fashionable and the word picnic became common in English in the mid-19th century. The romantic movement played a role in it as they encouraged people to get out and about and to explore outdoors. The upper class escaped the formality of the dining room and had their lunch outside with a beautiful natural scene in a background.

The heydays of the English picnic

Picnics became very fashionable during the Victorian era, albeit still among the upper class at first. Women’s magazines offered practical tips as well as menus for picnics along with picnic etiquette. The iconic wicker basket was introduced during this period as well.

Picnic was so popular that it made its way to the social calendar of the upper class: there was picnic before events like the Henley Royal Regatta, Royal Ascot or the Glyndebourne Opera. The tradition is still alive.

With the rapid expansion of the rail network, with cars and motorbikes being more accessible, the middle and working class could get around and travel easier. So a day in the country with a packed lunch or picnic wasn’t the treat of the upper class anymore.

Picnic today

Although not necessarily, but for me the English picnic also means croquet and quoits or other garden games. Even today you can see picnic tables set by the cricket pitch on village greens.

The picnic basket can contain any type of food, however, for me the below are essential part of the picnic menu.

• Salad
• Pork pie, sausage roll, Scotch egg
• Bread and butter
• (Finger) sandwiches
• Cocktail sausages
• Lemonade
• Custard tart or jam tarts
• Strawberries

 

Any setting is lovely for a picnic: it could be in the garden of a gorgeous estate, by the river, on the beach, in the woodlands or on top of a hill, or even in our own garden.

As Henry suggested in “Your rang, M’ylord?” I only carried the food to our garden.

Funnily enough we thoroughly enjoyed our picnic and the food somehow tasted much better outdoors… So consider having a picnic in your garden every now and then. Trust me, you’ll love it.

 

With love,