Martock Broad Bean

It is a centuries-old Somerset variety, the Martock of its name is an ancient one-time market town west of Yeovil. The beans are very much like the small-seeded beans that were a mainstay of the medieval diet.

Martock broad bean was passed to us in the 1970s by someone who acquired them from the then Vicar of Martock, Rev. Peter Coney. The beans were so prized that Rev. Coney exchanged them for donations to the church restoration fund.

Following extensive research, the earliest reference to the Martock broad bean that we found is in the manorial account rolls of 1293-4.

We also found a delightful 18^th century manuscript, written by the antiquarian and geologist John Strachey, that states “Beans are more abundant in the marshy parts more particularly about Martock where ‘tis a proverb, “Take a Martock man by the collar and shake him, and you will hear the bean rattle in his belly”,

After initially trialing this variety in 1976, we’ve grown it a number of times ourselves, and always found it an easy crop to raise. It produces compact plants around 90cm tall. The pods are small and the beans have a meaty taste that used to be very welcome on fast days.

It's rare to find a variety that can be traced so far back with such strong roots in one place. The Martock bean symbolises the way towns and villages used to cultivate their own collection of unique varieties that performed well in their specific conditions. This tradition is something we’ve lost in recent years, but is now becoming more important to local growing communities.

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