Page 26 - ALG Issue 3 2021

vegetable
History of the Martock Bean
Family: Fabacceae, Genus: Vicia, Species: Faba, Cultivar: Martock.
The Broad Bean (Vicia Faba) was developed in the eastern Mediterranean area in Neolithic times, the earliest evidence of their cultivation coming from as far apart as Hungary and Jericho, with early remains also having been found in Egypt and England.
They are the hardiest of all beans. The cultivar "Martock", probably the last of the truly local varieties of field bean, dates from the medieval period and was grown extensively in England in
the Middle Ages. It was first mentioned in parish records as early as the 12th century, although it is thought to be
the same variety used in the Roman voting system, a brown/black "Martock" bean being used to cast a "No" vote
and a white bean for a "Yes", eventually giving rise to being black-balled to
bar membership to a club. Black and white balls taking the place of beans. Beans turn black after several years of storage.
The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew describe that "It has been grown for many years and takes its name from the village of Martock in Somerset, where
it was grown in the 12th century, and where it was dried and used for bean feasting". Nevertheless, it is important to realise that it was never a luxury food used only for feast days; it was an
it is important to realise that it was never a luxury food used only for feast days; it was an essential component of the average medieval survival diet
26 Allotment and Leisure Gardener
essential component of the average medieval survival diet. The Heritage Seed Library catalogue says that it was rediscovered preserved in the kitchen garden of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, probably not much changed from the small-seeded beans that were the mainstay of a medieval feast. Robust, with small pods, a real survivor with a meaty taste that was welcome on fast days.
Bees only work small areas at a time and beans are, in any case, largely self- pollinating, so what was growing in the Bishop's garden has probably altered very little from the original beans. It
is most probably a "landrace" variety, that is, a primitive or antique variety usually associated with traditional agriculture, the result of generations of farmers retaining the best beans for the following year's seed, resulting in a crop often highly adapted to local conditions.