Displayed under glass at the Willis Museum is what is thought to be the world's oldest surviving complete wedding cake. Baked in 1898 for the wedding of Frances Webb and Charles Pearce in Basingstoke, the cake is a tiered, floral, hand-piped Victorian confection — and the icing is still in remarkable condition.
It is a curious, slightly haunting exhibit: a small, intensely personal object that became a public curiosity by accident. The cake sits alongside other domestic relics in the Willis collection and is a favourite stop for visitors who weren't expecting it. Worth the detour into the museum even if Victorian baking is not your usual interest.