Flitch of bacon custom the Plowman", In the present passage we have the earliest known allusion to the singular custom known as that of "the Dunmow flitch of Bacon." The custom was—"that if any pair could, after a twelvemonth of matrimony, come forward, and make oath at Dunmow [co. Essex] that, during the whole time, they had never had a quarrel, never regretted their marriage, and, if again open to an engagement, would make exactly that they had made, they should be rewarded with a flitch of Bacon." It is referred to in Chaucer (1343–1400) in a way that makes clear the reference would
Flitch beam construction. Glulam beams were used to support the second floor and the roof. This allowed the appearance of wooden columns, while providing the necessary strength. The method for calculating the size of a flitch beam to be used in construction is straightforward, using the transformed-section method. The steel piece of the beams is imagined to be an equivalently flexible (although much thicker) piece of wood. This allows the elasticity of the entire beam to be calculated as if it were entirely made up of wood. There is modest business activity involving flitch beams with The Timber Research and Development Association