Flitch of bacon custom the same, and that this led to the custom of married couples who actually succeeded in living in harmony for a given period being rewarded with a piece of boar meat. Guerber states that it is this tradition that became the "flitch of bacon" custom after converting boar meat into bacon. "The flitch of bacon", subtitled "The custom of Dunmow: a tale of English home" is a novel by William Harrison Ainsworth first published in 1854. The central plot of the story is the flitch at Dunmow and the scheming by the leading character to be awarded it by marrying
Flitch of bacon custom have been more that are unknown (among the possible ones there are Montagu Burgoyne and his wife Elizabeth). Three are known prior to the dissolution of the monasteries from the records of the house of Sir Richard St George, and a further three awards are known from the records of the manor court at Dunmow now in the British Museum. There was a long gap after the dissolution, but the tradition was revived by Sir Thomas May in 1701 when he became the owner of the Priory. There was an attempt made to claim the flitch on 12 June 1772