Sailors are paying homage to an old tradition with hot cross buns at the Widow’s Son pub in Bow.

As legend goes, a widow who lived on the site of the pub during the Napoleonic wars received a letter from her son asking for a fresh hot cross bun when he came home for Easter.

The son never made it home, but his mother continued to produce a bun every year until the house was made into a pub. On being demolished, a store of hot cross buns was discovered.

Since then, varnished buns have hung in nets over the pub’s bar in Devons Road – every year, serving members of the Navy bring a new bun with the date baked into the top to add to the collection.

The offerings came to a stop until last year, when the new owners reinstated the tradition. This year, from 12-3pm on Good Friday there’ll be live music from the Saloon League and DJ Vella will be retelling the story of the Widow’s Son.