Barnet Fair

For the film Barnet Horse Fair, see Barnet Horse Fair (film).
Cattle at Barnet Fair c. 1849
Barnet horse fair
The funfair

Barnet Fair is an annual horse and pleasure fair held near Mays Lane, Barnet, England, on the first Monday in September.[1]

The Fair takes place over three days starting on 4 September. It still operates under its royal Charter which is issued by Barnet council. The focus in the present-day Fair is no longer on horses and other livestock; but it is rather a pleasure fair instead.

History

The fair began in 1588 when Queen Elizabeth I granted a charter to the Lord of the Manor of Barnet to hold a fair twice yearly, in addition to the weekly Barnet Market.[2] Originally held in June and October, Lord John Tomlinson changed the dates to April and September in 1758 for the reason of improving business.[2] From 1881, the April fair ceased.[2]

The focus of the fair was its livestock, with animals being brought from across the United Kingdom.[1][2] In 1834, The Times reported that Barnet Fair was England's largest cattle market, with up to 40,000 animals on display.[2]

From the eighteenth century, the festivities also used to include horse racing, although these ceased in 1870 when the railway station was built on the ground in which they had been held.[1][2]

Popular culture

In 1896, a film was made about Barnet Fair, entitled Barnet Horse Fair.

The term 'Barnet Fair', normally shortened to 'Barnet', has become rhyming slang for 'hair'.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Barnet Market and Fair". Barnet Online. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Barnet Fair". Barnet 4U. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  3. ↑ Julian Franklyn, A Dictionary of Rhyming Slang (Routledge, 1960).

External links

Media related to Barnet Fair at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, February 09, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.