Their story is very topical since today, April 5th, is Easter, which means that their contributions and charity are (hopefully) being remembered in Biddenden today.

I think this story about them is fascinating and I love that it is a tradition that continues to this day. I’d love to visit Biddenden, as it would be wonderful to find the spots in the village that are related to the story about the twins.

I also hope to be able to buy a traditional Biddenden cake as a souvenir at some point! I go into more detail about these cakes in the write up.

There are many different depictions of the twins, so I will be posting a few different variations of how they’ve been featured. The first picture shows the original depiction of them from 1808. The fourth picture shows an example of a Biddenden cake.

Some facts if the legend about them is true:

\-they were born in Biddenden, Kent, England.

\-they were joined at the hips and shoulders.

\-they came from a wealthy family.

\-it is said that as children they frequently quarreled and disagreed with eachother.

\-Mary died suddenly at the age of 34, and although doctors offered to perform (at the time a very rudimentary) operation to separate the two so that Elisa could live, she refused and said, "as we came together we will also go together". Elisa passed away 6 hours later.

\-the story goes that upon their deaths, they bequeathed five plots of land (about 20 acres) to the local church in Biddenden. Every year, the income from these plots would be used to to provide an annual dole of bread, cheese, and beer to the poor every Easter.

\-the plots of land became known as the Bread and Cheese Lands.

What we know historically:

\-the first recorded dole of food and beer that was given out was in 1605, with the following statement being written about that years Easter, 

"on that day our parson giveth unto the parishoners bread, cheese, cakes and divers barrels of beer, brought in there and drawn"

\-a legal battle ensued during the 1640s as a result of a cleric at the church named William Horner believing that the lands should be intended for the parish priest only and tried to acquire the land for himself. 

\-The case went to court where the ruling judges decided that the land belonged to the charity and could not be used for anything else other than that. During this court case there were  statements written that the land was originally given as a donation by two women "who grew together in their bodies".

\-these annual doles were not always the most civil and there are records of several that were threatened by legal intervention.

\-by 1770, so much food was distributed that more and more people in England were becoming aware of the charity. This was also the first year that Biddenden cakes were made.

\-Biddenden cakes are hard flat bread rolls made with flour and water and imprinted with an image of Mary and Eliza. Originally, these cakes were thrown from the roof of the church into the crowds below. In 1860, these same cakes were described as being "a biscuit plaque".

\-clay replicas of the Biddenden Cakes have been sold as souvenirs.

\-the first time the story was written and recorded as a legend was also in 1770. This story states that the twins were only joined at the hips and not the shoulders. No names were given for the twins and instead they were referred to as the Biddenden Maids.

\-the legend of the sisters became extremely popular in the 1800s, but not much research was done into whether or not it was true.

\-there were theories put forth in the late 1800s that the sisters did exist but lived during the 1500s instead of the 1100s.

\-they weren’t referred to as Mary and Eliza until 1808.

\-local historians continue to argue about whether or not the sisters were real people.

\-Biddenden became increasingly popular for the food and beer being passed out that throngs of rowdy people would show up during Easter in the early 1800s. Again, the celebrations were threatened with legal intervention.

\-by 1882, Archbishop of Canterbury permitted that the food would continue to be passed out but the free beer had to stop.

\-the first pictures of the dole being passed out to villagers were taken in 1906.

\-the plots of land designated as the Bread and Cheese lands were sold off for housing in 1907, which actually provided more money for the charity than what was being earned previously. This meant that the dole now expanded to widows and pensioners as well.

\-the Chulkhurst Charity was combined with several other local charities with similar purposes to form the Biddenden Consolidated Charity.

\-a wrought iron sign celebrating the twins was created and first displayed in the village in the 1920s. It is currently still displayed there to this day.

\-over time the food and drinks have been adapted depending on the year. Such as how during WWII, the charity gave out cocoa instead of cheese due to rations that were in place. Cheese was brought back in 1951. Tea has also replaced the free beer that was once given out.

\-Biddenden cakes continue to be given to the poor of Biddenden each Easter, and are sold as souvenirs to visitors. These modern cakes are purposely baked so hard so that it’s easier to preserve them as souvenirs, and aren’t really meant to be edible anymore.

\-the tradition of the dole continues to be held each year.

\-the twins have been mentioned in articles and books about other famous conjoined twins, such as Chang and Eng Bunker.

\-their legacy lives on in the form of a continued charity that is held annually, and a historical fiction book about them from 2022 titled The Maids of Biddenden: The heart-warming and inspirational story of 12th-century Kent's conjoined twins.

Personally, I like to believe they’re real, or at least based on real people. I like that the charity is a notable contribution originally organized by two women who have a role in disability history. I’m also not really a religious person, so I like that I can celebrate these two amazing women who did their best to help their community.

Short funny story: when I was researching them I came across the name of a historian named, Edward Hasted, who didn’t believe they were real people and called the story about them being conjoined as being something vulgar, which initially shocked me with how cruel he was being to these two women who happened to be conjoined. I realized after looking him up that he was born in the 1700s and is not a present day historian! I’m less shocked now.

Mary and Elisa Chulkhurst (aka The Biddenden Maids) (1100-1134) were a pair of conjoined twins who were supposedly born in England, although the story is known more as a legend. They are known for their charity to help feed the poor in the village of Biddenden every Easter.