Comment on Ploughman's Lunch
Quote "...it is thought to have been a staple of farming life as far back as the 1830s. ..." Sadly not. The term was invented by the marketing board responsible for cheese (I believe it was the Milk Marketing Board) back in the 1960s. The ealiest reference was tracked down by the OED researchers when they were investigating the term for their next edition. In the 1830s a ploughman would have been operating a horsedrawn plough, which he walked behind. He would have had nowhere to carry a plate, knife or fork - let alone the food. If he had anything to eat with him it would probably have been a piece of bread with maybe a bit of fatty bacon in it.
Comment on Ploughman's Lunch posted 2006-05-08 by Richard English from Partridge Green
Comment on Ploughman's Lunch
A classic meal served in the already heralded icon the English pub. The Ploughman's lunch has withstood the test of time as it is thought to have been a staple of farming life as far back as the 1830s. A simple, yet hearty repast, upon which England's farming foundations rest!
Comment on Ploughman's Lunch posted 2006-05-05 by Rachel Christopher from Bournemouth, Dorset
Comment on Ploughman's Lunch
A lump of cheese, some bread and a bit of salad on a plate. Given a name which conjures up images of weary English farmers taking a break to fill their stomachs.
Comment on Ploughman's Lunch posted 2006-05-05 by John O'Hara from Leeds
Comment on Ploughman's Lunch
Farm workers in England were certainly eating bread cheese and ale out in the fields in Georgian times, even if they weren't calling it a " ploughman's lunch". The term was actually invented in 1956 or 1957, apparently by the Cheese Bureau - see this website zythophile.wordpress.com/2007/07/16/the-ploughmans-lunch-guilty-or-innocent/
Comment on Ploughman's Lunch posted 2008-01-07 by Martyn Cornell from Teddington