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LicenseThis image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseGroup shoot of from left to right, A4788 pt1, Old newspaper cutting describing the Biddenden maids' cakes, English,
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Group shoot of from left to right, A4788 pt1, Old newspaper cutting describing the Biddenden maids' cakes, English,
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Biddenden maids bread cast, Biddenden, Kent, England, 1801-1900
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
A cake of the Biddenden maids, English, 19th century
The Biddenden maids, Elisa and Mary Chulkhurst (1100-1134), were conjoined twins named after their home town of Biddenden, in Kent, England. They lived for 34 years joined at their hips and shoulders until they died, six hours apart. The twins are said to have left land to the Church, the rental income from which was to be used to purchase food for the poor to be distributed on Easter Sunday. Souvenir cakes made from plaster and bearing their image were also distributed. Today, cakes are distributed to the elderly on Easter Monday. The item is shown here with Biddenden newspaper cuttings and casts.
Details
- Category:
- Ethnography and Folk Medicine
- Collection:
- Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
- Object Number:
- A203659
- Measurements:
-
overall: 10 mm x 50 mm x 75 mm, .02kg
- type:
- souvenir
- taxonomy:
-
- visual and verbal communication
- sculpture
