The origins of the great Devonshire cream tea

After my recent busy spell of promoting my talks and other paranormal events, it’s nice to get back to sharing with you a more traditional piece of Dartmoor folklore.

This particular story reveals how clotted cream was first introduced into the country, becoming a vital ingredient of the great Devonshire cream tea.

It centres around one of my favourite tors, Dinger Tor, which is located at the end of one of the army tracks, with its own turning circle in front for their vehicles, and stunning views, looking south, into the remote wilderness of northern Dartmoor.

A fabulous location for a story and a long walk.

Once upon a time the country we now know as Britain was full of giants, they ruled the land, until one day the Trojan known as Brutus, and his army of mighty warriors, came to claim it for their own.

They landed in Totnes, for you can still see the Brutus Stone there, on Fore Street, the spot where he first set foot on British soil.

Straightaway, they set about removing giants from their new home, killing those that resisted, forcing the majority to flee to safety, until only a few were allowed to remain, only because they promised to be no bother.

One of these was known as Giant Blunderbuss, and he lived with his four wives - who would dare tell a giant he could only have one? - in his castle built upon remote Dinger Tor, in the middle of Dartmoor.

His favourite wife was called Jenny, for she was the most beautiful of them all, and all the other wives were jealous of her.

So much so, they made her do all the chores, just to keep her busy, so that Blunderbuss couldn’t spend time with her, but he still did.

Eventually, the other wives gave him an ultimatum, either he got rid of Jenny, or they would no longer cook his favourite meals for him.

Blunderbuss loved his food, so reluctantly he was forced to send her away, but secretly he took her to another castle he owned on a clifftop in Cornwall and made her stay there on her own.

The other wives were happy, and so he got fed.

Unbeknownst to them, he still made trips to visit his beloved Jenny, but she was sad to be left alone in his miserable old castle, and longed to be allowed home again.

One night, from the tower of the castle, she saw a group of Cornish wreakers acting suspiciously on the clifftop below, waving lighted torches around, trying to confuse the sailors on a ship just out to sea, and get them to crash their ship on the rocks below, so they could plunder the cargo.

Fearing for the lives of the poor mariners, Jenny quickly lit a fire on top of the tower, and began waving and shouting, trying to warn them of the danger they faced.

Eventually the ship dropped anchor at a safe distance from the rocks, and row boats of sailors came ashore to deal with the troublesome wreakers, while the owner of the vessel, a rich Phoenician merchant, paid a visit to Jenny to thank her for her assistance.

Finding her sad and alone in the castle, he asked her what the problem was.

Jenny explained about Giant Blunderbuss, the other jealous wives, and how she longed to return to her home on Dinger Tor.

He said he had the answer to her prayers, and gave her the recipe for the most wonderfully tasting food ever... clotted cream!

He told her to offer that to Blunderbuss, and the other wives, and they would never want to banish her again.

Sure enough, the merchant’s words proved true.

The next time her husband came to visit, she prepared the clotted cream, spread it over some scones she had baked herself, and topped it off with some homemade strawberry jam... we can argue about the order of things later!

As he ate the new delicacy, Giant Blunderbuss fell in love with it straightaway, he also fell in love with Jenny all over again, and vowed nevermore to banish her from Dinger Tor, nor let the other wives bully her or blackmail him.

The loved-up couple returned to their home on Dartmoor, much to the disgust of the other wives, but before they could protest, Blunderbuss laid down the law, forbidding them to be unkind to Jenny ever again.

He then told them to try the new recipe that she had brought back with her, and so they too fell in love with clotted cream.

They all apologised to Jenny for ever being unkind to her, and welcomed her back into their family.

The wives then took Jenny’s recipe and passed it off as their own, and soon the whole county of Devonshire had fallen in love with them and their Clotted Cream. Blunderbuss and Jenny were then able to live their lives happily ever after, whilst the other wives revelled in their new found fame.

If you thought that clotted cream came from Devon, or even Cornwall, think again! It actually originates from Phoenicia.

So, next time you are travelling around the Eastern Mediterranean countries of Turkey, Lebanon, Israel or Syria, its modern day equivalent, keep an eye out for those little tubs that you can post home to your family and friends...