QUIRKY EASTER TRADITIONS IN LONDON
Forget the standard chocolate eggs and supermarket hauls - Easter in London is a time when the city leans into its wonderfully eccentric history.
Sophie Darras
4/3/20262 min read
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QUIRKY EASTER TRADITIONS IN LONDON
Forget the standard chocolate eggs and supermarket hauls - Easter in London is a time when the city leans into its wonderfully eccentric history. If you're looking for something more memorable than a sugar crash, here are four uniquely "London" traditions to add to your bank holiday itinerary.
1. The Fleet Street Egg Roll
Where: St Bride’s Church, EC4
When: Easter Sunday (6:00am)
If you’re a morning person (or just a very dedicated night owl), head to the "Journalists' Church" on Fleet Street. After a atmospheric dawn service that begins in total darkness, the congregation spills out onto the pavement for one of London's most charmingly competitive events.
Participants roll decorated hard-boiled eggs down the street to symbolize the rolling away of the stone from Christ’s tomb. It represents new life and the resurrection.
It’s a delightful sight: parishioners in their Sunday best dodging the occasional early-morning bus to see whose egg travels the furthest without breaking. The winner gets a chocolate trophy, and everyone else gets a well-earned breakfast back in the crypt.
2. Easter Monday Chair Lifting
Where: Greenwich (near the Cutty Sark and local pubs)
When: Easter Monday (from noon)
Prepare for some high-altitude hospitality. In Greenwich, the Blackheath Morris Men keep a medieval "heaving" tradition alive. Originally a way to celebrate spring fertility, the modern version involves the Morris dancers placing a local lady in a flower-bedecked chair and hoisting her into the air three times.
In exchange for being "lifted," tradition suggests a small forfeit - historically a kiss or a penny. You’ll find the troupe dancing and "lifting" outside historic pubs like the Trafalgar Tavern and the Ashburnham Arms all afternoon. It’s loud, rhythmic, and quintessentially British.
3. The Widow’s Buns
Where: The Widow’s Son Pub, Bromley-by-Bow
When: Good Friday
This one is a bit bittersweet but deeply moving. Hanging from the ceiling of this East London pub is a giant net filled with hundreds of rock-hard hot cross buns.
The story goes that in the 1800s, a widow baked a bun for her sailor son who was due home for Easter. He never returned, but she continued to bake a fresh bun for him every year until her death. To honour her, the pub adds a brand-new bun to the net every Good Friday. Sailors from the Royal Navy often attend to help with the "hanging," making it a unique mix of local legend and maritime tribute.
4. The Spitalfields Bonnet Parade
Where: Old Spitalfields Market, E1
When: Usually the Saturday before Easter
If your style is more "runway" than "ritual," the Spitalfields Bonnet Parade is the place to be. This isn't just for kids; it’s a high-energy explosion of creativity where locals show off the most avant-garde, towering, and downright bizarre headgear imaginable.
From bonnets decorated with miniature tea sets to those featuring live flowers (and the occasional battery-powered chick), the competition is fierce. There are prizes for the "Most Imaginative" and "Best Dressed Pet," so don't be surprised if you see a pug in a fascinator strutting past you.
