ROCK hard, riddled with woodworm and munched by mice, it can’t have looked like the most appetising of hot cross buns. Yet, 23 years ago, Bill Foster—a baker from Tavistock, Devon—bought the stale pastry for a Guinness World Record-setting £155. It might sound rather barmy, except that the bun was an antique. It had been baked in Stepney, London, in 1829 and superstition had ensured it would survive to go under the hammer at Birmingham’s NEC nearly two centuries later: it was found tucked under a house’s rafters, where it had been stashed to bring good luck.
Perhaps it’s because of their association with Easter or because they don’t go mouldy as quickly as bread does, but hot cross buns have long been seen as miraculous. Their very origin is steeped in myth. ‘Institutions have decayed, empires have crumbled away, monuments have disappeared like scenes in a pantomime, and this hot cross bun is apparently the only thing that has survived them all,’ wrote The Illustrated London News in April 1855. Many Victorians, such as author Charles Hindley, drew a parallel between the buns and the ‘sweet cakes of flour and honey’ offered to the goddess Astarte of the ancient Levant and the bull-stamped rolls of the Classical world—he even launched into an audacious explanation linking the word bun to the Greek boûs, for bull (today’s etymology favours a proto-Germanic origin).
Denne historien er fra April 05, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra April 05, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
