Alice de Bryene Alice de Bryene Alice de Bryene or Alice Brian (born 14th century; died 1413 or after) was an English noblewoman who owned estates in Suffolk and was present at the court of Richard II (reigned 1377–1399). She was the wife of Guy Brian the younger, daughter-in-law of Guy Brian the elder, and granddaughter of Alice de Bures. Alice de Bryene is frequently cited in social history texts because two of her household documents happen to survive. They give important insights on the activities of a noble family in the late 14th century. These documents are: a single leaf from a
Pontefract cake with a stamp, to form their traditional look (the workers who did this were known as "cakers" and were able to produce upwards of 30,000 per day), but now they are usually machinery formed. The embossed stamp was originally a stylised image of Pontefract Castle with a raven on the top bar, which is thought to have been in use for almost 400 years. When the first secret ballot in the United Kingdom was held in Pontefract on 15 August 1872, the ballot box used was sealed using a Pontefract cake stamp from Frank Dunhill’s factory, which shows the image