This photograph was taken by H.J. Milligan (Copyright) of Abingdon when there was a Bun Throwing from the roof of Abingdon County Hall in June 1953 for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
Percy Holmes, the Mayor of Abingdon for that year, had baked the 2,500 buns because he was also a Master Baker.
The Monarch’s speech for the Royal Occasion was amplified across the Market Place using loudspeakers.
There was a Bun Throwing from the roof of Abingdon County Hall today for the coronation of King Charles III.
There were 5000 buns.
The buns were thrown by dignatories. Here are Julie Mayhew-Archer (Freeman of Abingdon) and Layla Moran (Member of Parliament for Abingdon). Also throwing was the Mayor, ex-Mayors, town councillors (some newly elected on Thursday, and some more established councillors), and some people chosen because they could throw well.
Thanks to Andy for this picture taken from the upstairs window of Pablos, showing the crowd.
The Market Place filled up much earlier than usual. Many of these people had been waiting for a couple of hours, some even longer. Some thought the bun throw started at 4 pm. That was the time advertised for the road closure. The programme was:
- Band Performance 4pm
- Mister Hemmings’ Morris Men 4.20pm
- Ashnah ATS dancers 4.35pm
- Abingdon Traditional Morris Men 4.50pm
- Civic procession 5.05pm
- National Anthem 5.10pm
- Bun Throwing 5.15pm
Only those near the front could see the dancers or hear the band. We could, however, see handkerchiefs from Morris dancers. It was a surprise that Abingdon Town (brass) Band were not performing as in all previous bun throws.
But it was worth the wait. Nothing beats the thrill of a bun throw. The sun shone, and everything looked colourful.
500 special buns had the letters CR for Charles Rex or King Charles. Those were the ones to be varnished and kept for a lifetime.
Throwing Buns Cafe was open, did a good trade, and got a CR bun.
It was good of King Charles to make an appearance. I’m not sure Queen Camilla will be pleased.
The horns of the Ox of the Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers were covered with red, white and blue flowers for the occasions. They carried on dancing long after the bun throw had finished.
And other people stayed because it was such a lovely sunny day. I have added a video below. It is shaky in places.
Great pictures of a lovely afternoon as always Backstreeter
Great turn out for the bun throw, great atmosphere.
Great occasion but a shame about the poor communication. Having seen banners round town stating bun throwing at 4pm it seemed reasonable to assume buns would be thrown at 4pm with no need to do further checking online. Fun in the Park was great too, lovely to see so many families out enjoying themselves.
Glad to see an end to that practice of holding up inverted umbrellas to scoop up the buns. Always seemed a bit unfair.
With respect to accurate reporting I should report (as a councillor) that I am aware that the Town Council has received several complaints about the waste of food that happens as the result of a bun throwing, and would respond that a) It is a long-standing tradition, b) most buns are caught, c) having been caught they are either preserved or eaten, However if people are concerned that this is a tradition that should be consigned to history, then they are more than welcome to present a petition to the Town Council saying that “Bun Throwing should cease henceforth”, which I am sure the Town Council will consider (though I should state personally I believe that it is unlikely another bun-throwing will happen soon).,
Nice to see you after the event. You captured some great shots of the action.
I got a couple of videos from our position near St Nicolas Church (the first time I’ve ever been over that side):
https://youtu.be/SqeX5zN3Z5U
https://youtu.be/eBMkhVL48gY
My blog post from the event is at https://worldofbunthrowing.blogspot.com/2023/05/abingdon-bun-throwing-king-charles-iii-coronation.html
Looking forward to the next Bun Throwing event, whenever that may be…