Yorkshire nostalgia: Long and sometimes troubling history of giant Yorkshire pies...

The history of larger than usual pies in Denby Dale goes back to 1788, when local villagers and farmers came together to celebrate the recovery of ing George III from his illness. In that year, a large game pie was cooked in an oven at the White Hart Inn.

The next time a large pic was made was following the victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. The people of Denby Dale made a pie which apparently contained two sheep and twenty fowls and had a massive pastry crust made from half a peck of flour (about eight dry pints).

The year 1846 saw a ‘Repeal of the Corn Laws’ pie, which was baked on August 29. However, this pie was never formally cut, because a riot broke out after it collapsed, causing at least one person to fall into it. It contained, among other things, one calf - five sheep, seven hares, 14 rabbits, two partridges, a brace of grouse, four ducks and 63 small birds.

Many other pies have been made down the years, including the bi-centennial 1988 pie, which served 90,000 people.