The strange story of the Dunmow flitch

This volume stitches together nine hundred years of a uniquely English tradition, the Dunmow Flitch, when couples who could swear a year of marital harmony were awarded a side of cured bacon. Drawing from the priory’s chartulary, court rolls and other rare manuscripts, the author presents the earliest surviving records of the ceremony in 1445 and 1510, alongside later presentations that marked the custom’s gradual decline. Illustrated with thirty‑four historic images—some never before published—the book brings to life the processions, the colourful village characters, and the legal language that framed each award.

The narrative moves beyond dry transcription, offering lively anecdotes about yeomen, spinsters and even a famed local butcher who once carried the prize through town. The author’s modest, almost patriotic, approach makes the scholarly material feel like a local story told to a curious visitor. Listeners will come away with a clear sense of how a simple bacon award became a lasting emblem of community, humor, and marriage in English folklore.