Flitch of bacon custom ceremonies in 1855. They have been held ever since in one form or another except for a gap caused by the World Wars. The first ceremony after World War II was held in 1949, despite rationing still being in force. The modern trials are held every fourth year on leap years; the next one is planned for 2020. The event is organised by the Dunmow Flitch Trials Committee who employ a counsel to cross-examine the applicants in an attempt to save the bacon for the sponsors who donated it. The trial is decided by a jury. When first revived the
Flitch of bacon custom by John and Susan Gilder. The couple had given due notice of their claim and were accompanied by a large crowd of onlookers. However, the lord of the manor had ordered that the ceremony should not take place, and the gates of the Priory were nailed shut to prevent it. By 1809 the tradition was definitely abolished. A further attempt to claim the flitch was made in 1832 by Josiah Vine, a retired cheesemaker, who travelled with his wife from Reading to make his claim. He too was refused a trial by a very unsympathetic Steward of Little Dunmow. "John