Pub where Christmas puddings hang from the ceiling

The oldest pudding hanging from the ceiling of the Spread Eagle pub dates back to 1954

If you were to enter a cosy pub in West Sussex on a cold Christmas Eve, you'd be forgiven for making a beeline straight to the bar for a mulled wine.

But those who cast their eyes up to the ceiling of the Spread Eagle in Midhurst - an inn that dates back to 1430 - are rewarded with the bizarre sight of dangling Christmas puddings.

It's a tradition going back more than 100 years.

Chef Martin Hadden said the oldest pudding still hanging up dated back to 1954.

To this day every guest that stays at the Spread Eagle on Christmas Eve is given the gift of a homemade pudding.

"They can either take it home with them, or they can write their name on it and date it, and hang it on the ceiling, and then on their return the following year we take it down and steam it for them," Martin said.

The Christmas puddings hang in the pub's Cromwell Room, named after Oliver Cromwell, who became Lord Protector in 1653 and Britain's first and only non-Royal head of state.

"History says that he hid here at the Spread Eagle for a period of time," said Martin.

Cromwell was also a Puritan, who believed Christmas was a time to celebrate Jesus' life rather than indulge.

He has been accused of banning Christmas - including Christmas puddings - but this is disputed by some historians.

There are Christmas puddings from over the last 70 years, including this one from 1987

The Christmas pudding dates back to the 14th Century and started life more like a porridge, made with meat, root vegetables and dried fruit, then thickened with breadcrumbs.

It wasn't until Victorian times that the pudding evolved into something close to those eaten today.

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