The history of the Toastmaster is in many ways shrouded in mystery, as very little documentation has survived. It is known that there have been Keepers of the Wine and in ancient times, the controller of the wine was called the Arbiter Bibendi; it was these who dictated the flow and service of whatever beverage was being served to the gathering.
For centuries, the beverages served to guests were mead, porter, sack or very poor wine, as they had little skill in winemaking. In the eariy days, someone was appointed to look after the cellars in the big houses and he would experiment with various flavourings in the wines to improve their flavour. At banquets, he would have before him a large bowl of the brew and in smaller bowls would have herbs and spices. He would take a small piece of bread, hold it before a fire or in a flame until it was toasted; he would then dip that into the herbs and spices and stir it into the bowl of wine. This man was known as The Master of the Toast. It was, apparently, a highly skilled occupation and they were much prized for their talents.
Around the year 1649, an article appeared in Tatter magazine about a banquet that was held in Bath at The Pump Room, adjacent to the Spa. There were two young revellers at the party who wandered into the Spa where there was a 'lady of the town' bathing in the waters and covered in little more than confusion. One of the two young beaux wanted to jump in to be with her. He was prevented in his attempts by his friend who scooped some water from the bath in the vessel he was holding, at the bottom of which was a small piece of toast (known later as a sop) from the Master of the Toast at the banquet. He said, 'Nay, though Iltkest not the beverage (the water from the bath) I will TAKE THE TOAST to this lady', and he proceed to drink - water, toast and all. That is the first time the word Toast was used in pledging a health. It was a Toast to the Ladies, which makes that Toast the oldest Toast of all.
Toastmasters were used in various ways at banquets. In very early days, before printing was commonplace, guests at banquets had no idea who was who at High Table. The Master of the Toast would be required to stand behind each person at that table and proclaim, in a very loud voice, the name of the person sitting there.
Masters of the Toast were then 'promoted' to be a kind of Chairman of the event, along with the host or person holding the occasion. In the library of the British Museum, there is a small book, published during the 1 ih Century, listing the names of Toastmasters of the time. There were hundreds of them and they were engaged, not to make formal announcements and be somewhat apart from the function as they are today, but to invent and can out Toasts, Bumpers or Huzzahs. They would spend the whole evening inventing and calling dozens of different toasts and would be engaged for their wit, humour, originality and general personality.
There was also another tradition connected with these banquets. It was essential that for every Toast honoured, the drinker should drain the glass empty and hold it upside down to prove that there was no more beverage in it. It is hardly surprising that these events earned the terrible reputation of drunken and debauched occasions. However, the Toastmaster was able to stay aloof to all the drunkenness by using what was known as a Toastmaster's Glass. This was a small, eggcup size vessel made of very cheap, thick glass with a small receptacle for liquid. It also had a flat, solid bottom, which the Toastmaster used to bang upon the table. He was thus quite able to drink a 'glassful' (about sufficient to fill a thimble) tip it upside down to show that it was empty each time, but to stay sober.
The history of the red coat is also uncertain. It is believed that the first Toastmaster to don a scarlet jacket was a Mr William Knight-Smith who worked in London from around 1895 until his death around 1932. A portrait of this gentleman hangs in The Cafe Royal.
