Chelsea bun, the 18th-century ‘it’ bun

In the early 18th century, there was a bakery in London’s borough of Chelsea called The Chelsea Bun House. One of the owners was known as ‘Captain Bun’, and King George II, Queen Caroline, King George III and Queen Charlotte and their children were among their custom. The newspapers reported that the shop looked more like a ballroom than a bakery, with its luxury furniture, statues, curiosities and large paintings on the walls. The long shopfront was decorated with a colonnade that stood out on the sidewalk. The interior and exterior were captured by artists, just as we would take a photo for Instagram today. People reportedly walked great distances to buy their buns at the bun house. It was even claimed in a local newspaper that 50,000 people went to The Chelsea Bun House one Good Friday to get hold of a Hot cross bun that the bakery exclusively baked on that day. The then owner noted that from then on there would be only Chelsea buns at the shop because the whole neighbourhood had complained about ‘the immense unruly and riotous London mob’ that had gathered there to buy a Hot cross bun.