![Rhubarb Sculpture](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Rhubarb_Sculpture.jpg)
The Rhubarb Triangle is a area of
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
, England between
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
,
Morley Morley may refer to:
Places England
* Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish
* Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish
* Morley, Cheshire, a village
* Morley, County Durham, a village
* Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish
* M ...
and
Rothwell famous for producing early forced
rhubarb
Rhubarb is the fleshy, edible stalks ( petioles) of species and hybrids (culinary rhubarb) of ''Rheum'' in the family Polygonaceae, which are cooked and used for food. The whole plant – a herbaceous perennial growing from short, thick rhizo ...
. It includes
Kirkhamgate
Kirkhamgate is a village, north-west of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It originated as a hamlet in the Alverthorpe township in the parish of Wakefield in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
Geography
Kirkhamgate is situated on rising ground at a ...
,
East Ardsley
East Ardsley is a village in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, in West Yorkshire, England. East Ardsley forms part of the Heavy Woollen District.
Etymology
The name ''Ardsley'' is first attested in the Domesday Book as ''Erdeslau'' and ...
,
Stanley
Stanley may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Film and television
* ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film
* ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy
* ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short
* ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...
,
Lofthouse and
Carlton
Carlton may refer to:
People
* Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname
* Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy
* Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...
.
The Rhubarb Triangle was originally much bigger, covering an area between
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
,
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
and
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
.
From the 1900s to 1930s, the
rhubarb
Rhubarb is the fleshy, edible stalks ( petioles) of species and hybrids (culinary rhubarb) of ''Rheum'' in the family Polygonaceae, which are cooked and used for food. The whole plant – a herbaceous perennial growing from short, thick rhizo ...
industry expanded and at its peak covered an area of about .
Rhubarb is native to
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
and thrives in the wet cold winters in Yorkshire. West Yorkshire once produced 90% of the world's winter forced rhubarb from the forcing sheds that were common across the fields there.
In 2010, Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb was awarded
Protected Designation of Origin
The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union and the United Kingdom aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main ...
(PDO)
status by the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
’s Protected Food Name scheme after being recommended by
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United K ...
(Defra).
Cultivation
![Rhubarb Shed](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Rhubarb_Shed.jpg)
The cultivation method for forced rhubarb was developed in the early 1800s.
The fields were fertilised with large quantities of horse manure and '
night soil
Night soil is a historically used euphemism for human excreta collected from cesspools, privies, pail closets, pit latrines, privy middens, septic tanks, etc. This material was removed from the immediate area, usually at night, by workers employ ...
' from the nearby urban areas and woollen waste from "
mungo and
shoddy
Recycled wool, rag wool or shoddy is any woollen textile or yarn made by shredding existing fabric and re-spinning the resulting fibres. Textile recycling is an important mechanism for reducing the need for raw wool in manufacturing.
Shoddy was ...
" mills.
The rhubarb plants spend two years out in the fields without being harvested. While in the fields the plants store energy from the sun in their roots as
carbohydrates
In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or may ...
. The roots are subjected to frost before being moved into sheds in November where they are kept in complete darkness. In the sheds the plants begin to grow in the warmth and the stored carbohydrate in the roots is transformed into
glucose
Glucose is a simple sugar with the molecular formula . Glucose is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. Glucose is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water and carbon dioxide, using ...
resulting in forced rhubarb's sour-sweet flavour.
The sheds are long low buildings which are heated; originally with coal, which was plentiful and relatively cheap in the area, but this has been replaced by diesel.
Forced rhubarb grown in the sheds is more tender than that grown outdoors in summer. Without daylight the rhubarb leaves are a green-yellow colour, and the stalks, measuring around , are crimson in colour with a smooth texture. Traditionally, the pickers pull the stalks in candlelight as any exposure to strong light will stop the growth. By the end of March the
harvest
Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...
is over and the
root
In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...
stock is totally exhausted and used for compost.
History
Growing and forcing rhubarb was originally done by many hundreds of small farmers, smallholders and market gardeners. In later years some growers expanded and owned many thousands of roots and extensive forcing sheds.
In the late 19th century early forced rhubarb was sent to
Spitalfields
Spitalfields is a district in the East End of London and within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The area is formed around Commercial Street (on the A1202 London Inner Ring Road) and includes the locale around Brick Lane, Christ Church, ...
and
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
markets in London in time for Christmas and was sent to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
for the French market. A special express train carrying rhubarb was run by the
Great Northern Railway Company from
Ardsley station
Ardsley station is a SEPTA Regional Rail station in Ardsley, Pennsylvania. It serves the Warminster Line and is located at the intersection of Jenkintown Road and Edge Hill Road. In FY 2013, Ardsley station had a weekday average of 175 boardings ...
every weekday night during the forced rhubarb season from Christmas until Easter. Up to 200 tons of rhubarb sent by up to 200 growers was carried daily at the peak of production before 1939.
In 1962, a rail strike caused the growers to look for alternative transport and the service ended shortly after.
Wakefield Museum
Wakefield Museum is a local museum in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, north England, covering the history of the city of Wakefield and the local area from prehistoric times onwards.
History
From 1955 Wakefield Museum was housed in a 19th century l ...
has a permanent exhibition about forced rhubarb.
Rhubarb became less popular after the Second World War when more exotic fruits became more available.
The
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
dates the name "rhubarb triangle" to a 1965 textbook mentioning pre-war trains called ''rhubarb specials'' that ran from the West Riding rhubarb triangle to London and it was mentioned in the ''Guardian'' newspaper in 1986.
EU recognition of Yorkshire forced rhubarb
![Carlton-rhubarb](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Carlton-rhubarb.jpg)
Twelve farmers who farm within the Rhubarb Triangle applied to have the name "Yorkshire forced rhubarb" added to the list of foods and drinks that have their names legally protected by the European Commission's
Protected Food Name scheme.
The application was successful and the farmers in the Rhubarb Triangle were awarded Protected Designation of Origin status (PDO) in February 2010. Food protected status accesses European funding to promote the product and legal backing against other products made outside the area using the name. Other protected names include
stilton cheese
Stilton is an English cheese, produced in two varieties: Blue, which has '' Penicillium roqueforti'' added to generate a characteristic smell and taste, and White, which does not. Both have been granted the status of a protected designation of o ...
,
champagne
Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...
and parma ham. Leeds Central MP,
Hilary Benn
Hilary James Wedgwood Benn (born 26 November 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds Central since a by-election in 1999. He served in the Cabinet from 2003 to 2010, under both Tony Bla ...
, was involved in the Defra campaign to win protected status.
Culture
Wakefield Council holds an annual Rhubarb Festival in February, celebrating the area's links and promoting the surviving rhubarb industry. A Farmers' Market, cookery demonstrations, walks and tours of the forcing sheds are among the attractions.
In 2005 Wakefield council erected a sculpture depicting a rhubarb plant in Holmfield Park Wakefield.
Rhubarb growing and the 'Rhubarb Express' are featured in
Wakefield Museum
Wakefield Museum is a local museum in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, north England, covering the history of the city of Wakefield and the local area from prehistoric times onwards.
History
From 1955 Wakefield Museum was housed in a 19th century l ...
.
In
Frances Brody's 2019 novel ''The Body on the Train'' (Piatkus: ) a murdered man's body is found on a rhubarb train from Ardsley, on its arrival at
King's Cross. The book's cover illustration features boxes of rhubarb on a platform beside a train.
See also
*
Rhubarb forcer
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
Rhubarb Sheds; images from LeodisE. Oldroyd & Sons Ltd*Yorkshire Film Archive (documentary)
The Rhubarb Triangle (2000)
{{coord, 53.73, -1.5, scale:50000_region:GB, format=dms, display=title
British products with protected designation of origin
Geography of the City of Bradford
Geography of Leeds
Rhubarb
Rothwell, West Yorkshire