The Triumphal Entrance of a Peck Loaf into Grantchester

Grantchester High Street

History of Grantchester

‘The Triumphal entrance of a Peck loaf into Grandchester’, c1787. ‘Mr. Peck, his Man, Pony, and Dog’. Mr. Peck, and his servant (clinging onto Peck’s coat), returning to Grantchester from a shopping trip. The servant’s basket contains a couple of fowls, a bottle of Trinity audit ale, and a pair of stays for the housekeeper. On his head he carries a peck-loaf, a loaf of bread made from a peck of flour.

Samuel Peck, who died in 1791, was a Fellow of Trinity, vicar of Trumpington from 1765 to 1777, and Rector of Orwell at the time of his death. He lived in Grantchester for some years. He was learned in village history and law and was at one time collecting material for a history of Trumpington