Witness the Distribution of the Butterworth Charity

It's Holy Week, and today is Good Friday. Whilst your author is not religious, he does like to have a look at the interesting religious ceremonies in London, and today at 11.30am the parishioners of St Bartholomew the Great, West Smithfield, take part in the Distribution of the Butterworth Charity.


The ceremony marks a custom of giving 6d to twenty one of the poorest widows of the parish and of giving buttered hot cross buns to the children who attended. It takes its name from Joshua Whitehead Butterworth, a Victorian antiquarian from a family of law publishers, who created a charity to continue the custom.

For more information, and pictures, see here

_{^Picture © Gruenemann used under Creative Commons^}