Tichborne Dole

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The Tichborne Dole was an annual event sponsored by the Tichborne family, in which needy people would gather on the Tichborne estate to receive free flour and bread. It was held on Lady Day. However, after a few years, riots started breaking out during the administration of the Tichborne Dole, as local criminals also came to get free bread. The Pope ordered it discontinued at that point.

Half a century later, the dole was started again, as the current head of the Tichborne family believed that the discontinuation of the dole started a curse upon the Tichborne family. The curse stated that after the dole was discontinued, the family would have a generation of seven ill-fated sons, followed by a generation of seven ill-fated daughters. Then, it was prophesied that the ancient Tichborne house would fall down. All of these events came to pass shortly after the discontinuation of the dole. Indeed, the dole and curse set the groundwork for the infamous Tichborne Claimant trail of the 19th century.