Pancake Day

Olney, Buckinghamshire, UK, the village of my Cooper ancestors, is famous for its Pancake Race, dating back more than five hundred years, that is held on Shrove Tuesday (today). According to tradition, in 1445 a woman of Olney heard the shriving bell while she was making pancakes and ran to church in her apron, still clutching her frying pan. The course is 415 yards long and is run from the Market Place to the Church at 11.55 a.m. Participants, housewives or young ladies of the town, must have lived in Olney for at least 3 months and be at least 18 years old. Competitors must wear the traditional costume of a housewife, including a skirt, apron and head covering. Each contestant has a frying pan containing a hot, cooking pancake. She must toss it three times during the race. The winner, on crossing the line, gives her pancake a final toss and is then greeted by the verger with the traditional kiss of peace. The race is immediately followed by a Shriving service in the Parish Church. This year’s winner was 42-year old Amanda Brear, who covered the 415-yard course in 1 minute, 9 seconds. I guess it is no surprise that children in England call Shrove Tuesday “Pancake Day.”

Olney is also famous for John Newton, the reformed slave trader who in 1764 accepted the curacy at Olney in Buckinghamshire. When the poet William Cowper moved to the area, the two began a series of weekly prayer meetings, for which their goal was to write a new hymn for each one. These were published as the Olney Hymns, which achieved lasting popularity, particularly Amazing Grace.
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