Photos from Abingdon's Royal Bun Throwing

Bun Throwing held in Abingdon to celebrate the Queen's 90th birthday.

The crowd rejoicing

We had a great time in my home town of Abingdon-on-Thames for the 34th Bun Throwing celebration.

The tradition draws a huge crowd to the market place

At 7pm the first of 4,500 currant buns was thrown by the Mayor of Abingdon from atop the old County Hall to the thousands of people gathered in the town's market place.

People often worry that they won't catch a bun if they're at the back of the crowd - well here's proof that some of the bun throwers have quite an arm on them! This landed on top of the sign at Costa Coffee!

I've attended each Bun Throwing in Abingdon in my lifetime, a total of 14 since 1981. The first event was held to celebrate the coronation of King George III in 1761.

Our haul of buns - well, that of Christopher, Chris Senior and Jon

Unfortunately I didn't manage to catch any buns this time - only the second time I can recollect not getting one. The last time I blanked was at the small mid-week Bun Throwing to celebrate the 450th Anniversary of Abingdon Charter and a visit by Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal in 2006.

My dad showing his pride at nabbing five rejoicing buns

Christopher managed to catch a couple of currant buns too and was well happy with his achievement

Emily didn't catch any buns either. But did get one hit her quite hard in the head! However, we did catch this nice video of the action - we were in quite a prime position.



Timeline:
To date there have been 34 Abingdon Bun Throwings
1761 Coronation of King George III
1810 Golden Jubilee of King George III
1821 Coronation of King George IV
1831 Coronation of King William IV
1837 Coronation of Queen Victoria
1856 Declaration of Peace at the end of the Crimean War
1863 Marriage of the Prince of Wales to Princess Alexandra
1887 Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria
1897 Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria
1902 Coronation of King Edward VII
1911 Coronation of King George V
1935 Silver Jubilee of King George V
1937 Coronation of King George VI
1946 VE Day
1953 Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
1956 Visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Abingdon
1966 Abingdon International Week
1974 End of the Borough of Abingdon
1977 Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II
1980 Queen Mother’s 80th Birthday
1981 Marriage of the Prince of Wales to Lady Diana Spencer
1986 Marriage of the Duke of York to Sarah Ferguson
1987 40th Wedding Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II
1990 Queen Mother’s 90th Birthday
1995 50th Anniversary of VE Day
1997 50th Wedding Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II
2000 Millennium
2000 Queen Mother’s 100th Birthday
2002 Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II
2006 450th Anniversary of Abingdon Charter/Queen Elizabeth II’s Official Birthday
2006 450th Anniversary of Abingdon Charter/Visit by Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal
2011 Marriage of Prince William to Catherine Middleton
2012 Queen's Diamond Jubilee
2016 Queen's 90th Birthday

There have also been three non-official Bun Throwing events in the town
2012 World Bun Throwing Championships to find the town's best bun thrower
2014 Bun Throwing at Abingdon Fire Station to celebrate its 50th anniversary
2016 World Bun Throwing Championships to find the town's best bun thrower

Abingdon County Hall Museum kindly provided details of the Recorded Bun Throwings to 1997. Further details on events to 2006 can be found on the blog here.

Related blog posts:
- Bun Throwing in Abingdon 2016

Bun Throwing in Abingdon 2016

Here's a video with action from the Bun Throwing event to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen's 90th birthday.

Held on Saturday 11th June 2016, the first of 4,500 currant buns was thrown by the Mayor of Abingdon at 7pm.

The 2016 bun throw was the 34th since the tradition of Bun Throwing in Abingdon-on-Thames began in 1761. The first event was held to celebrate the coronation of King George III.

I have attended each Bun Throwing in Abingdon in my lifetime, a total of 14 since 1981.

World Bun Throwing Championships

Check out the Abingdon Blog for a report and photos of the recent World Bun Throwing Championships held in the town.

The contest was the second edition of the event to find the town's best Bun Throwers. The winners are invited to join the Mayor and other dignitaries to throw buns to the townsfolk in the Market Place below at the next Bun Throwing on Saturday 11th June.

I competed in the first World Bun Throwing Championships in 2012. I hit a personal best of 25m 10cm to set (and temporarily hold) the new World Record and clubhouse lead. The record was eventually set at 222 feet (67m) 

This year's winner managed to throw their currant bun over 150 feet.

The 2016 bun throwing will be the 34th since the tradition began in 1761.

On special occasions since then townsfolk have gathered in the marketplace in front of the old county hall in attempt to catch a special hot cross bun. The first event was held to celebrate the coronation of King George III.

The last Bun Throwing was held in 2012 to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.