A TASTE OF HOUGHTON-LE-SPRING

A Taste of Houghton is a collection of local recipes, shared by Houghtonians and accompanied by a local history photograph of some relevance.

If you have a favourite recipe and old photograph, and you are happy to share them, please get in touch with the Society.

This section of the Houghton Heritage website is dedicated to the late Linda Bromfield (nee Lanagan) who loved cooking and took her Mam's recipes from Fencehouses and shared them with the Southern Softies. Try her Mars Bar Cake - known as Auntie L's Mars Bar Cake - it is deliciously calorific!

Local recipe from Houghton-le-Spring for Mars Bar Cake

MARS BAR CAKE

Auntie L's Mars Bar cake is a quick and easy desert. The recipe has been shared by Linda Bromfield of Portsmouth (formerly Chilton Moor). A 1958 photo of Linda at Houghton Feast can be seen in the Wild Boar.
[MARS BAR CAKE RECIPE]

Local recipe from Houghton-le-Spring for Leek Soup

LEEK SOUP

This recipe for Leek Soup is very quick, very warming, very tasty and very cheap if you use free ingredients from the garden. It is best served with warmed crusty bread - ideal for dipping!
[LEEK SOUP RECIPE]

Local recipe from Houghton-le-Spring for Yorkshire puddings

YORKSHIRE PUDDING

This recipe makes a large Yorkshire Pudding which could also be poured into smaller tins to make several puddings. Recipe from Kathy Heyworth and was passed down by her grandmother, Rebecca Scott.
[YORKSHIRE PUDDING RECIPE]

Local recipe from Houghton-le-Spring for Poor Mans Soup

POOR MANS SOUP

This simple yet tasty Italian recipe has been shared by Jan Hanson, granddaughter of Mr Colombo Riani who owned the much-loved cafe and icecream parlour at 67 Newbottle Street, Houghton-le-Spring.
[POOR MANS SOUP RECIPE]

Local recipe from Houghton-le-Spring for Porridge Biscuits

PORRIDGE BISCUITS

This recipe makes a delicious batch of about 20 biscuits and is a recipe which Houghtonian Harry Smith used to make as a youngster and one he has now taught to his 12 year old granddaughter.
[PORRIDGE BISCUITS RECIPE]

Local recipe from Houghton-le-Spring for Pease Pudding

PEASE PUDDING

Pease Pudding hot, pease pudding cold, pease pudding in the pot nine days old! This recipe has been shared by the Thompson family of Houghton-le-Spring who don't use measurements - just good old guesses.
[PEASE PUDDING RECIPE]

A delicious and simple desert as served at Dubmire Junior School

DUBMIRE SCHOOL DESERT

Mary Walker is a retired cook from the Dubmire Junior & Infants School kitchen in Fence Houses. She kindly shared this simple recipe following a request from Chris Chalk, an ex-pupil, in January 2014.
[DUBMIRE SCHOOL DESERT]

Local recipe from Houghton-le-Spring for Fruit Cake aka Boily Cake.  Avon Crescent, Chilton Moor, DH4 6NA

FRUIT (BOILY) CAKE

This recipe for Fruit Cake, or Boily Cake as it is also known, comes from the collection of Emily Lanagan who lived at Avon Crescent, Chilton Moor, from the 1940s until 1987. The street is now demolished.
[FRUIT (BOILY) CAKE RECIPE]

Local recipe from Houghton-le-Spring for Tatie Pot, also known as Tattie Pot, and also known as Panaculty

TATIE POT (PANACULTY)

Tatie Pot, a dish known in the wider Wearside area as Panaculty, is a simple dish made from sliced potatoes, onion, peas and corned beef. A recipe will be coming soon, so please re-visit!
[TATIE POT RECIPE]

Special heritage menu from Good Grub Cafe, Newbottle Street, as created by members of Houghton Heritage Society

HERITAGE MENU

As part of the Heritage Open Days celebrations, members of Houghton Heritage Society renamed many of the dishes on the Good Grub Cafe's menu. Each has a twist or a local connection.
[GOOD GRUB'S MENU]

Recipe coming soon

RECIPE COMING SOON

Coming soon. Can you help us? Contact us if you have a local or family recipe you would like to share, along with a vintage photograph which means something to you. Drop us a line!
[RECIPE COMING SOON]

Recipe coming soon

RECIPE COMING SOON

Coming soon. Can you help us? Contact us if you have a local or family recipe you would like to share, along with a vintage photograph which means something to you. Drop us a line!
[RECIPE COMING SOON]

Join Fyass Byuk - Houghton Heritage Society's popular Facebook group

FACEBOOK GROUP

You can join Houghton Heritage Society by becoming a member on Facebook - or Fyass Byuk as we call it. We have over 2,500 members and the group is very popular with residents, descendants and ex-pats.
[FACEBOOK]

Videos and cine footage of Houghton-le-Spring

VIDEOS OF HOUGHTON

Houghton Heritage Society's YouTube Channel features exclusive videos of Houghton-le-Spring as well as footage from our heritage events throughout the year - and of course the ancient festival of Houghton Feast!
[YOUTUBE VIDEOS]

Old photographs of Houghton-le-Spring shared via Flickr

OLD PHOTOGRAPHS

The Society has over 5,000 images in its collections. Many can be found on our Flickr page while our Facebook group has thousands of exclusive photographs as uploaded by our many members.
[FLICKR] | [ARCHIVE CATALOGUE]