An 18th century domestic goddess will be honoured with a blue plaque at the Arden Arms in Stockport.
Elizabeth Raffald was an innovator, educator and entrepreneur at a time when married women had no legal rights. She produced a major cookbook, wrote the first trade directory for Manchester, introduced the first servants employment office, ran pubs, shops and a catering business and still found time to have nine children.
Her nephew built the Arden Arms and she is buried at the nearby St Mary’s church in the market place with other Raffalds, an old Stockport family. The pub is owned by Frederic Robinson Limited who have been generous in their support for the new plaque.
The idea for it came about from a conversation between Suze Appleton, Elizabeth’s biographer, and the pub licensees, Steve King and Joe Quinn, who are very proud of their pub’s connection to such an amazing woman.
Elizabeth was born in 1733 in Doncaster, moving to Arley Hall in Cheshire as housekeeper when she was 27. After marrying the gardener and moving to Manchester, she dedicated herself to improvements of all kinds.
She was a tremendous innovator and produced the first town directory for Manchester and Salford in 1772. She gave birth to nine children, ran shops and pubs and her catering skills were much in demand. In 1769 she produced a major cookbook, (more than 100 years before Mrs Beeton), which contains over 800 of her own recipes, many of them still in use today, such as Piccalilli.
Of Elizabeth’s nine children only 3 survived and descendants of one of those 3, Anna, still live in Stockport. The plaque was partly funded in memory of one descendant, Connie Jackson, of Reddish, who sadly died last year before the plaque could be realised.
Another generous donation was given in memory of Roy Shipperbottom, a Stockport resident who spent 20 years researching Elizabeth. His book was published in 1997 and contained a thorough introduction to her cookbook, The Experienced English Housekeeper.
More funding also came from members of The Heatons WI, a group of Stockport women who gave generously after hearing the talk about the amazing superwoman.
This plaque was co-ordinated by Suze Appleton, the most recent supporter of Elizabeth Raffald. She has worked tirelessly for the last few years to revive Elizabeth’s reputation. She has reproduced the cookbook in ebook and paperback formats, written a short version of Elizabeth’s life, The Experienced English Housekeeper of Manchester, and gives talks about Elizabeth. She is also creating a fictional version of her story.
