What Is: a Turnspit

In 1487, after Henry VII had successfully put down the revolt and imposture of Lambert Simnel, who claimed to be Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick and a nephew of Edward IV and Richard III.  He was confronted with a young boy, perhaps a teenager, who had been the pawn of others who wanted to put a premature end to the young Tudor dynasty.  In a rare show of mercy, or maybe a case of making the punishment fit the crime, Henry put Simnel to work as a turn-spit in the royal kitchens.

What is a turnspit?

The most common form of meat preparation in Medieval times was roasting over an open flame.  Sometimes whole dressed carcasses, sometimes joints of meat were slowly turned over the flame by means of a lever known as a roasting jack or spit jack, similar to a modern rotisserie, but on a much grander scale.  Someone had to turn the spit or spits, meaning hours of standing or crouching near an open flame, slowly turning the handle of the spit-jack until the meat had cooked.  Medieval kitchens were a preview of Hell, the heat of several large open fireplaces pouring into an open room, along with heat and smoke.  The turn-spit worked always closest to the fire, so they felt the heat, literally.  There were work hazards associated with their job, including heat exhaustion, burns and even falling or otherwise coming into contact with the fire.  It was lowly, dangerous work but boys who proved efficient could hope to secure a better job in the kitchen, or even elsewhere in the household.  Simnel eventually became royal falconer, a skilled and prestigious job indeed.

In time, small dogs were trained to run on wheels which turned the spit-jacks.  A breed of small terrier-type dog was created to deal with this irksome chore, a breed which was no extent.  However, in royal kitchens, humans were used to turn spits.  In Henry VIII's kitchens at Hampton Coiurt, which are still operated as part of living history, turnspits were granted extra rations of beer, an acknowledgment of their need to keep hydrated in an age that didn't always appreciate the benefits of water or have access to clean drinking water.  Modern turn-spits can still be seen, showing just how demanding this work was.