15/08/2026
Did you know Derwentside Shopping Mill β also known as Unity Mill β once had a side hustle making bread? π
And, wellβ¦ letβs just say Greggs had nothing to worry about. π
Back in 1868, the good people running the local workhouse thought they had solved a simple problem:
π βWe need bread. Hire a baker.β
Enter Messrs. Nickisson & Smith, Bread Contractors at Unity Mill.
Contracts were signed. Prices agreed. Bread delivered.
What could possibly go wrong?
Quite a lot, as it turned out. π¬
The complaints started rolling in.
Mr Spendlove, the returning officer β clearly a man who took his bread VERY seriously β discovered that the loaves were 2 to 2Β½ ounces lighter than they were supposed to be.
And worseβ¦
The bread wasn't even up to βgood secondsβ quality.
Basically, Victorian workhouse speak for:
βThis bread is absolutely rubbish.β π
Nickisson & Smith explained that they were using half βsecondsβ flour and half household flour and promised to improve things.
Unfortunately, the inmates had already delivered their own review:
β 1/5 β Would not eat again.
Some apparently couldn't eat the bread at all.
Even the Master of the Workhouse agreed it was bad.
So the Guardians examined it themselves.
And unanimously concluded that it wasβ¦
EVEN WORSE THAN THE OTHER BAD BREAD. π€£
At this point, Unity Mill's bread had achieved something remarkable:
π It had united an entire committee.
Against bread.
The Board decided enough was enough and cancelled the contract.
The higher Poor Law Board, meanwhile, offered the incredibly helpful solution:
βIf it's bad, just send it back.β
One can only imagine a horse and cart trundling back to Unity Mill carrying 90 deeply offended loaves of bread. π
Eventually, the Guardians tasted the bread themselves β brave men indeed β and confirmed that it was officially deficient in quality.
Soβ¦
π 90 loaves returned
π° Cost deducted from the baker's bill
π Contract cancelled
βοΈ Bread scandal concluded
And just to make absolutely certain this culinary disaster never happened again, a new rule was introduced:
All contractors had to provide proper weights when delivering bread.
And thus ended the Great Unity Mill Workhouse Bread Scandal of 1868
