A Gingerbread House in England’s Lake District That Exceeds Imagination

The village of Grasmere sits gracefully over the River Rothay in northwest England’s Lake District, balancing between charming and overly quaint, and blending historical elements with modern touches designed to attract tourists. Over the years, the picturesque stone cottages have transformed into tearooms, gift shops, and B&Bs to cater to the influx of visitors exploring the region's hills, valleys, and waterfalls (locally called fells), much like its most notable resident, the poet William Wordsworth, did two centuries ago.

Wordsworth is both credited and criticized for making Grasmere a tourist hotspot. During his lifetime, people traveled to see him, and even more came after his passing in 1850. He is buried in St. Oswald’s churchyard in the heart of the village, alongside his wife, children, and sister Dorothy. If you stroll past his grave and through a field of daffodils planted in tribute to his famed poem (you know the one: “I wandered lonely as a cloud”), and then make your way back to the main road, you'll encounter a breeze infused with the scents of butter, sugar, a hint of lemon, and fragrant ginger.

These delightful aromas emanate from Grasmere Gingerbread Shop, nestled in a quaint white stucco cottage next door that was originally built as a schoolhouse in 1630. Inside, the shop is adorned with dark Victorian woodwork, lace doilies, gingham, and plenty of daffodils. The shop staff wear striped high-necked dresses, ruffled pinafores, and mobcaps, creating an irresistibly charming atmosphere. It’s hard to believe it was this picturesque in 1854 when Sarah Nelson, a resourceful domestic worker with an exceptional recipe, began selling gingerbread to tourists who visited to place daffodils on Wordsworth’s grave next door (where her husband Wilfred worked part-time as a gravedigger). “The Daily Telegraph thought we were artificially creating the aroma,” shares Joanne Hunter, who co-owns the shop with her husband Andrew. However, the cottage is so compact — with retail space accommodating only one customer at a time — that a fan is needed in the kitchen to maintain a comfortable temperature. Nonetheless, the irresistible scent wafting outside serves as a fantastic advertisement, enticing customers into the charming little shop year-round.

Crafted from Nelson’s original recipe — meticulously handwritten on parchment and kept securely in a bank vault — this gingerbread isn’t the thick, cake-like, treacle-flavored variety found in other parts of the Lake District, where it’s often paired with custard. It’s not the dry gingerbread meant for Christmas houses either. Instead, it’s the thickness of a cookie but denser and chewier. It bends rather than snaps, requiring some effort to chew, making it a treat to be savored. The flavors of butter and sugar mingle with a hint of lemon, and above all, a robust ginger taste, both ground and crystallized. The overall sensation is both comforting and invigorating.

You can purchase it by the piece, half-dozen, or dozen, or in a special commemorative tin. The shop also offers ginger tea, ginger beer, ginger curd, and stem ginger in syrup, alongside non-edible gingerbread-inspired items like hand and lip balms, plus other Lake District favorites that don’t contain ginger at all, such as Kendal Mint Cake and rum butter.

It’s quite possible that others were making gingerbread like this during Nelson’s time and even earlier. (At Dove Cottage, the former home of Wordsworth, a replica recipe book showcases gingerbread from Wordsworth’s sister-in-law, likely the kind the family enjoyed, though Dorothy noted in her diary her preference for a thicker version.) However, no one else produces it today. Nelson wisely trademarked the name Grasmere Gingerbread along with a logo featuring her standing in front of the cottage. Despite a 2021 U.K. law mandating that all prepackaged foods list their ingredients, the precise recipe and methods remain confidential; shop staff must sign nondisclosure agreements, and only two individuals are permitted to perform the final mixing. For many years, Andrew Hunter handled all the mixing, but as the business expanded, Joanne explains, it began to interfere with their family life, leading them to bring others into the secretive process.

The shop has been part of Joanne Hunter’s family for three generations. Nelson left no immediate heirs, so after her passing in 1904 — at the age of 88 due to “sheer exhaustion,” as stated on her death certificate — her nieces sold the shop to a local woman who later partnered with Hunter’s great-aunt and uncle, who eventually sold it to her parents. Hunter was practically raised on gingerbread, having grown up in an apartment just across the street from the shop, and she started working there as a child, needing a box to see over the counter.

As a young girl, she often envisioned ways to enhance the shop. However, when she and Andrew purchased the business in 2000 — with him overseeing the legal and financial aspects while she managed the shop and its marketing — she chose to proceed cautiously to maintain good relations with both staff and customers. Her management approach can be summed up with WWSND: What Would Sarah Nelson Do?

The Hunters consider themselves guardians of the shop and its recipe. While they occasionally collaborate with local businesses on items like Easter eggs, they haven’t altered — in Hunter’s words — Nelson’s original recipe by adding extra ingredients or elements like chocolate. However, experimentation at home is always encouraged. Several employees report enjoying Grasmere Gingerbread with whisky or beer, and Hunter mentions it pairs nicely with blue or goat cheese, or a Lancashire cheese complemented by mango or pineapple.

For practicality and health considerations, some updates have been made in the shop. The old Victorian coal range has been swapped out for a modern electric oven, and an electric mixer eases the physical strain on bakers. An electronic card reader has been introduced, along with new offices across the street for marketing and shipping. Additionally, a website now serves as a more effective way to inform the public about the shop, a far cry from Nelson's days of drawing in customers at the gate.

The gingerbread is exclusively available at the Grasmere shop and a new location in Hawkshead, another village in the Lake District about 10 miles away. Due to its short shelf life, Hunter firmly refuses to add preservatives, which means it’s not sold in London or anywhere else in the U.K. She has turned down offers from Walmart and other large companies for the same reason. However, FedEx provides quick shipping, allowing customers to enjoy the gingerbread at its peak freshness; deliveries have reached as far as Australia, and a helicopter drop was once organized for the Falkland Islands.

The international fans who place the most orders and frequently engage with the team on social media primarily come from the U.S.

“Americans adore us,” Hunter remarks. “It’s like” — she mimics an accent — “‘Wow, man, it’s the cutest little shop!’” The context is different; in the U.S., such a store would likely be located in an amusement park or a faux-historic village, offering postcards or deep-fried snacks with bland beer, all while an unmistakable plastic scent lingers in the air.

Yet even the British, who typically prefer things that are genuinely historical, embrace Grasmere Gingerbread. Its age isn’t the sole factor; numerous establishments in the Lake District have existed far longer, including some pubs that were already 200 years old when young William Wordsworth first encountered daffodils. However, those ancient pubs now serve chicken tikka, modern craft beers, and fish fingers for children, much like anywhere else in 21st-century Britain. It’s a unique experience to savor the very same gingerbread that visitors to Grasmere have enjoyed for generations, a sentiment echoed by older patrons who tell Hunter it tastes just like their childhood vacations.

When accustomed to viewing history in black and white, a vibrant recreation can seem somewhat eerie. Recreating taste memories is even trickier. The steadfast nature of Grasmere Gingerbread gives the shop a distinct and undeniable authenticity, setting it apart from the typical tourist trinkets of the town. Much like the poems of William Wordsworth and the journal of Dorothy Wordsworth, it captures the essence of what Grasmere truly was, rather than a romanticized notion of a 19th-century village. Like the majestic mountains, serene lakes, and rolling fells, it has become an integral part of the Grasmere experience, as vital as the weather itself.

As Hunter puts it, “Visitors to the Lakes remember the rain and their gingerbread.”

Aimee Levitt writes and dines in Chicago. Discover more of her work at aimeelevitt.com.