A young Jane Austen writes in a mischievous letter about “disordering my stomach with Bath bunns.”
Sally Lunn’s Bath Bunns / Buns featured at the endless rounds of breakfast parties of the Georgian period. Jane Austen’s eyes were bigger than her tummy – she liked them too much!
Like brioche, Sally Lunn’s were eaten hot if possible, split open and liberally doused with melted butter. The BBC TV programme The Great British Bake Off delved into how Sally Lunn Bath Bunns were served from portable baking ovens to those attending Bath’s Georgian Pleasure Garden. The Sydney Gardens pleasure garden (located behind what is now the Holburne Museum) opened in 1795 and were modelled on London’s famous Vauxhall Pleasure Garden. In 1796 William Whittington was granted a patent for portable baking stove which worked “with a facility and cheapness hitherto unknown“.
Today you can enjoy a bunn inside Bath’s oldest house in The Jane Austen Room at Sally Lunn’s. You can also enjoy bespoke dishes, and blends of tea and coffee . We also sell Jane Austen blends of tea and coffee to take home to enjoy or give as gifts.