History of the World Custard Pie Championship

The History of custard pies dates back to a fortunate discovery by the wife of Alfred Bird early in the nineteenth century. The Times, on 1st June 1967, quoted 14.000 tons of custard were sold in Great Britain annually, enough for one gallon for each member of the population at the time. This made it more popular than fish and chips!

The organisers of the World Custard Pie Championship uncovered a mystery behind the statistics, the ingredients, and makeup of the custard pie which the clowns and slapstick comics of the Charlie Chaplin era used. Custard itself was unsuitable, it ricochets! Many suggestions were made and rejected. After detailed research from the British Museum, Pinewood Studios, and letters to Hollywood, the answer was found at Tovil, Maidstone. Richard Hearn (Mr. Pastry) was kind enough to let us in on the secret, and this was revealed at the first public demonstration of custard pie throwing staged on June 24th, 1967 when the World Custard Pie Championships were born.

The first event was held in the Coxheath Primary School grounds when the Parent Teacher Association and the Coxheath Residents Association came together to raise funds for desperately needed community facilities. The proceeds from the early years supported the grant funding that made the village hall and children's playground possible.

Mike FitzGerald MBE was the organiser of the championships from their start in 1967 to 2019, when he retired from the committee. We would like to say a huge thank you to Mike for his commitment and for making the championship what it is today!