Uncover the Real Life History in Grantchester Season 9
Discover curious details about the history included in Grantchester Season 9, from Legionnaires to lardy cakes, contraception to cults, and more. Each Grantchester episode tucks in surprising factual bits from the era—inquiring minds read on!
[Contains spoilers. These historical nuggets were originally published after each Grantchester episode in the MASTERPIECE Mystery! Insider newsletter. Sign up for the Insider so you won’t miss content like this, breaking Mystery! news, and behind-the-scenes access to the world of MASTERPIECE Mystery!]
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Episode 1 | Working Women
In Episode 1, Esme Keating leaves school for a typing job. The early ‘60s “saw a boom in the number of paid positions available to young, single women,” notes the BBC. Jobs were still strictly segregated by gender and the routine repetitive work done by female clerks, typists, and shop assistants was categorized “unskilled” or “semi-skilled” to justify lower pay. It also became more common for married women to earn wages—at least part-time. By 1960, 38% of married women worked but were routinely sacked once pregnant. Women’s wages weren’t considered central to families’ income, and ladies earned only 60% of what the gents received for the same job, according to StrikingWomen.org (UK).
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Episode 2 | Conditions of Police Service
Episode 2 sees DS Larry Peters asking Geordie’s permission to marry Miss Scott. Larry wasn’t simply fishing for advice from his boss—under the UK Metropolitan Police Force’s Conditions of Service at the time, male officers with under four years on the job couldn’t wed without their superior’s consent. The rule was deemed “necessary in order to prevent the number of single men on the force falling too low.” Female police officers faced further marriage rules, often having to resign after their wedding. These regulations eventually changed as societal attitudes evolved, and employment and gender equality laws were introduced.
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Episode 3 | The Blue Ball Inn
In Episode 3, Alphy Kottaram doesn’t get much of a reception walking into a pub called The Blue Ball Inn. Wait, what’s it called!? It’s generally believed the inn got its name from one of the earliest hot air balloons—presumably blue—that landed in a nearby field in the 1750s. The Blue Ball Inn has served Grantchester since 1767, making it the hamlet’s oldest pub. Its interior is included on the English Pub Interior Heritage List. There’s no jukebox or live music to distract from conversation and dogs are quite welcome.
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Episode 4 | Lardy Cakes
In Episode 4, Mrs. C. tells Alphy she’s made lardy cakes to help raise church funds. What the Dickens is a lardy cake? It dates back to mid-19th century England and, simply put, lard is used instead of butter to enrich a white dough. The dough is sweetened, spiced, and filled with dried fruit, then rolled out and liberally dotted with lard. Next, it’s folded or rolled so that while baking, it forms distinct, flaky layers. Once you know lard actually has less saturated fat than butter, you realize this cake just has a branding problem!
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Episode 5 | The Pill
Episode 5 sees Cathy finding a prescription for oral contraception in Esme and Mae’s laundry. When the pill was introduced to the UK in 1961, it was only available through the National Health Service (NHS) to married ladies. The government didn’t want to be seen as encouraging promiscuity. The restriction lasted until 1967, when the NHS Family Planning Act allowed birth control advice and services to all women regardless of marital status. Even so, many single women faced “significant stigma” when getting a prescription for the pill, according to The National Archives (UK).
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Episode 6 | Ancient Roman Settlement
The skeleton of a Roman soldier is found in a farmer’s field in Episode 6. Legionnaires ruled the roost in Cambridge for over three centuries, in fact. They initially crossed a marshy River Cam in AD 70, establishing a military station on Castle Hill. The settlement was called Duroliponte, or ‘The Fort at the Bridge.’ It was enclosed on four sides and covered 25 acres, according to Roman Britain. Archaeologists have excavated Roman cemeteries, metal hand-axes, and hordes of coins. And you can still see evidence of a main ‘Roman Road’ running through today’s Cambridge.
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Episode 7 | Student Newspapers at Cambridge
Episode 7 spotlights a satirical student newspaper, The Honest Duck. There’s no such publication at Cambridge University; student-run papers there are serious business. Varsity is the oldest, issued continuously since 1947. Sylvia Plath’s earliest poems appeared in Varsity and Zadie Smith later published a short story, according to Varsity’s website. Former editors include Sir David Frost, Financial Times editor Andrew Gowers, BBC presenter Amol Rajan, and British Vogue editor Suzy Menkes OBE. Comedian, actor, and broadcaster John Oliver received the Varsity Trust award 1994 for excellence in student journalism.
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Episode 8 | Counterculture Groups
Con artist Sam White and his committed ‘Wayfinders’ form their own communal society in Episode 8. The 1960s was marked by such counterculture groups, by civil rights movements, and an emerging ‘generation gap.’ Anti-establishment expression was especially pronounced in university towns like Cambridge. Charismatic leaders leveraged social discontent to form communal groups ranging from earnest to disingenuous. The Grantchester Mysteries’ author James Runcie included a similarly cultish group for the plot in Sidney Chambers and the Persistence of Love, his sixth book in that series.
