Cockle bread facts for kids

Cockle bread was a special kind of bread made a long time ago in England. It wasn't like the bread we eat today! It was often made with corn or wheat flour, but it also had a plant called "cockle weed" mixed in. This made it a bit different, and maybe not as tasty as regular bread.

What Was Cockle Bread?

The Mystery of Cockle Weed Bread

Imagine making bread, but accidentally mixing in a wild plant! That's what happened with cockle bread. It was an older type of bread from Britain. People believe it was made from common grains like corn or wheat. The interesting part is that it contained "cockle weed." This weed, also known as Agrostemma githago, often grew in fields where corn and wheat were farmed.

In 1595, a play called The Old Wives' Tale by George Peele mentioned "cockle-bread." Later, in the 1900s, an editor named Charles Whitworth studied the play. He suggested that "cockle-bread" was likely a lower-quality bread. This was because the cockle weed got mixed in with the grains. Another writer, William Carew Hazlitt, agreed with this idea in his book Faith and Folklore in 1905.

Cockle Bread in Nursery Rhymes

A Children's Game and Rhyme

By the 1800s, "Cockle-Bread" became the name of a children's game. This game was played along with a special nursery rhyme. The rhyme talks about making "cocklety bread."

Here is the rhyme:

My granny is sick and now is dead.
And we'll go mould some cocklety bread.
Up with the heels and down with the head.
And that's the way to make cocklety bread.

In 1854, an expert named John Brand wrote about old traditions. He described this nursery rhyme as "modern" for his time. However, he also noted that many people didn't fully understand its connection to the older way of "moulding" cockle bread. It seems the game and rhyme kept the name alive, even if the original bread was less common.