Flitch of bacon custom already be well known to the reader. It continued to be awarded until the middle of the 18th century, the last successful claim being made on 20 June 1751. The ceremony of this last flitch award was recorded by the artist David Ogborne who was present at the time to make sketches and, later, engravings. His images were later used as source material by Ainsworth for his novel, "The Flitch of Bacon". Ainsworth's 1854 novel proved so popular that it revived the custom which has continued in one form or another down to the present day and is now held
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