Hot cross bun 'could be world's oldest'

Andrew Munson was given the hot cross bun about 30 years ago

A couple from Essex believe a hot cross bun, which they think was baked more than 200 years ago, could be the oldest in the world.

Dot Munson, from Wormingford near Colchester, said her husband Andrew was given the bun about 30 years ago.

Writing on an accompanying piece of paper states it was produced in Colchester for Good Friday in 1807.

"It's a big hard lump, normal hot cross bun size," Mrs Munson said. "Why my husband was given it we'll never know."

Hot cross buns are said to hail back to the 12th Century but were first mentioned in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1733.

Mrs Munson said her hot cross bun comes with a letter, which states the bun was "put into this paper by my great uncle, Edward Holdrich".

She said it was given to her husband by a man called Norman Baker along with some other items, including wooden puzzles.

"My husband keeps it in his studio, in the box," Mrs Munson said.

"Every Easter we get it out and we once had a competition on a social evening to guess how old it was."

They have not tried to verify the age of the hot cross bun and said they had given up trying to find out further details as Mr Baker was no longer alive.

Guinness World Records said it did not have a category for the oldest hot cross bun, but would welcome a claim for the title from the Munsons.