Fancy doing something odd? Well, if you’re a married couple who can prove that you’re very happily married, you could carry off a massive amount of bacon.
That’s the premise of the Dunmow Flitch Trials, a 900-year-old tradition of dubious but charming origins and ever since, every four years, a trial is held to decide if married couples are happy enough to carry off the bacon.
The ancient ceremony is also coming up to date – as same-sex married couples are now being invited to apply.
It’s actually a giggle, and the the whole thing is more of a lighthearted event, although one that’s carried out with a professional prosecutor defending the bacon, and a jury of local people to decide if the visiting couple should take home a lot of bacon or a small piece of gammon.
The trial takes place every fourth year which is also a leap year, but thanks to the pandemic, the 2020 trials took place in 2022, and as 2024 is a leap year, they will reset the clock and hold the next Flitch Trial in July 2024.
Anyone who has been married for at least a year and a day when the trial takes place can apply, and next year, for the first time, that will include same-sex couples, because the trials are all about marriage, whomever it is you’re married to.
But beware, you will have to be able to convince a jury that you’re very happily married, otherwise, no bacon for you.
Applications for the Dunmow Flitch Trials are open now, and you can apply here.
For those not applying, the trials are a public affair and tickets to attend the morning or afternoon trials usually go on sale in a few months time. Dunmow is a small town in Essex, a short bus ride from Stansted Airport, or a long walk along the Flitch Way.
It’s one of those bonkers events that the Brits do so well – Morris Dancing, a Town Cryer, and lots of people in robes and trying to look terrifically serious while doing something utterly barmy.
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