Five couples have been revealing the secrets of married bliss in an open court in an attempt to win a side of bacon.
The bizarre July event is part of the ancient ceremony of the Dunmow Flitch Trials.
For centuries, the ceremony has attracted couples from across the country who set out to prove they have not had a cross word for a year and a day.
Their revelations are made before a 'judge' in a mock court and a 'jury' of maidens and bachelors decide if they deserve to win the flitch - a salted side of pork.
The successful couples are awarded their prize after swearing an oath and are carried through the town on chairs in front of cheering crowds.

---

Look what else is in this section!

Dunmow Flitch Trials - more

The oath of the Flitch Trial winners

The exact origins of the strange custom have been clouded by the mists of time and there a conflicting reports about how it came about.
But one common claim is that the ceremony dates back as far as 1104 to the priory of Little Dunmow.
It is said the Lord of the Manor of Little Dunmow, Reginald Fitzwalter and his wife dressed themselves as humble folk and went to beg the blessing of the Prior a year after their marriage.
The Prior, was supposedly so impressed by their devotion he gave them a flitch of bacon. The Lord then revealed his identity and gave his lands to the Priory on the condition a flitch should be given to any couple who could claim they were similarly devoted.
From then on the custom is believed to have gained noteriety - Chaucer mentions the Flitch Trials in his poem, the Wife of Bath, written in 1340.
However, it is not until 1445 that the winners of the flitch were officially recorded.
The successful couple were Richard Wright and his wife who travelled all the way from Norwich to compete in the trials. Their win is noted in written documents still held by the British Museum.
Unfortunately, after the monastries were destroyed by Henry V111, the custom seems to have lasped. It was briefly revived in the 18th century but died away again after an incident in 1751.
It is recorded that the then Lord of the Manor lost interest when an opportunist couple, Thomas Shakeshaft, a weaver from Wethersfield, and his wife Anne, cut up their prize flitch and sold it to the crowds.
After an interlude, the ceremony was firmly re-established in 1855 and moved to the market town of Great Dunmow where it was held annually until the war years, when it switched to four yearly.
Because of its increasing popularity, recent trials have included a morning trial as well as the traditional afternoon and evening sessions.

Click here to read the official website of the Dunmow flitch trials