I am very honoured to have been asked to carve a stone Lamprey Pie as a gift from Gloucester for King Charles III to celebrate his majesty’s coronation in 2023, and to remember Gloucester’s tradition of gifting of a lamprey pie to the sovereign on special occasions.
The tradition of gifting of a Lamprey Pie goes back to before the 1200’s. A lamprey looks like an eel but is actually a jawless fish (as it has fins) and tastes like beef! The Lamprey used to thrive in the River Severn but no more. They are now a rare species. They were then flown over from Canada but that is not environmentally friendly so nowadays Gloucester gifts the monarch with a pork pie.
This pie was carved into one of the stones taken from the ruins of LLanthony Secunda Priory (as The King likes things to be repurposed), which incidentally gave a Lamprey Pie to Henry VIII at Windsor Castle in 1530. This stone carving project was kindly funded by many local businesses and individuals. It has been presented to private gardens of King Charles and Queen Camilla at Highgrove.
I owe thanks to so many people. The town crier for the initial idea, Paul James, for making it happen, the Gloucester business donors, the dignitaries for supporting the presentation, Llanthony Secunda Priory for supplying the stone and Highgrove for making us all welcome.
A short history of the tradition of the Lamprey Pie
Once considered a royal delicacy, lamprey pie has a curious and rather grand history. For centuries, the city of Gloucester would present one to the English monarch each Christmas — a rich and symbolic gesture of loyalty. Though the tradition ended in 1836, the pie still makes the occasional appearance for royal celebrations, such as coronations. These days, however, the elusive lamprey is often replaced with pork and apple, a gentler nod to the original. And, of course, no tale of lamprey pie would be complete without mentioning King Henry I, whose untimely death is said to have followed a “surfeit of lampreys” — proof, perhaps, that even kings can have too much of a good thing.
Please enjoy this short video from Highgrove Garden’s Instagram of the presentation