In the 1820s, a new account of the Biddenden Maids was published, which claimed that a gravestone marked with a diagonal line near the rector's pew in Biddenden church was the sisters' burial place. In 1830 it was noted that Biddenden was becoming thronged by visitors every Easter, "attracted from the adjacent towns and villages by the usage, and the wonderful account of its origin, and the day is spent in rude festivity". The large crowds were increasingly disorderly, and churchwardens on occasion had to use their staffs to hold back the mob. As a result, the distribution of the dole was moved from the church to the workhouse, but the crowds continued to cause problems. In 1882 Biddenden's rector applied for authority to abandon the ceremony; the Archbishop of Canterbury permitted the distribution of bread, cheese and Biddenden cakes to continue, but abolished the free beer in an effort to combat the problem of unruly crowds.