The Bread Princess
1.
Salsthorpe Parish Museum EXHIBIT A1XXH – dated 1846. Yellow cloth bonnet, embroidered with flowers in blue wool. Trimmed with yellow ribbon. Condition – fair, though some fraying on the edges. Worn by Hannah Barton at the inaugural “Salsthorpe Bread Day”, an annual distribution of bread loaves to the poor in the Salsthorpe community. The daughter of the Reverend Charles Barton – the parish minister who proposed the venture – Hannah was the first “Bread Princess” and was said to have stood in the Salsthorpe churchyard for sixteen hours, handing out loaves to local families.
All it took was a softly sweet smile of acquiescence, and Hannah was sealed in place. The verger, so keen to please her father, had murmured something ridiculous in the reverend’s ear. Glowing wi
