Agricultural History Review, Volume 68 Part 2 (2020), p. 316

The fair at Weyhill has been in existence for at least eight centuries. This is Anthony Raper’s second book on the subject and expands on his previous book Weyhill Fair – the greatest fair in the kingdom, published in 1988. Comprising 24 chapters of varying lengths, some as short as two pages, Raper examines the historical development of the fair from the first written evidence in a 1225 close roll. When the nearby town of Andover applied for a royal charter in 1599, it provided the first reference to Weyhill Fair by name, noting that it was held over three days, before, on and after Michaelmas. With the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1752 and the loss of eleven days that year, harvest-related events moved, with the fair being held around 10, 11 and 12 October. Legal disputes between the fair and the corporation of Andover were on-going in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries: there were also disputes with Appleshaw fair, held a few miles north of Weyhill only two days before, along with disagreements between the various landowners where the fair was held, regarding the split of the profits.

Raper then examines the different fairs held, starting with the sheep fair: described as the largest in England, some 150,000 sheep were penned in 1825. The development of the improved Hampshire Down breed is stated as leading to the establishment of additional fairs in spring and summer, for the sale of lambs. However, the coming of the railways reduced the number of sheep sold at Weyhill: Raper gives the example of early lambing Dorset ewes being sold at Dorchester Poundbury Fair, after which they were moved by rail to their new owners, alleviating the need to walk the sheep over the Downs to Weyhill. As for this latter activity, a short description of the drovers, their role and responsibilities, as well as the routes they travelled, is presented.

The cattle, or beasts, fair was held on the second day: beasts referred to cattle, oxen, pigs, goats and poultry. Whilst Weyhill was famous for cattle, local newspaper reports focused on sheep, horses and hops. With regard to the latter, Raper notes that hops had been sold previously at Stourbridge in Cambridgeshire. This fair declined at the end of the eighteenth century with the development of canals and improved roads: further, the hop growers of Farnham in Surrey moved their trade to Weyhill. In the nineteenth century, the hop fair ran for a whole week, although most sales were agreed after three days, local farmers having secured their supply of hops to brew beer for their workforce. By 1888, the fair reduced to two days with the Borough hop market in London starting to replace it, as farm-based brewing declined. However, Raper does not record the ending of the sale of hops at Weyhill.

As for the cheese fair, the cheese came primarily from Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Hampshire. Again, this fair had declined by 1825, further exacerbated by the railways enabling fresh liquid milk to be transported around the country. By 1889, only one cheese merchant attended: the cheese fair closed in 1920. The horse fair also declined according to Raper as a result of the large number of horses requisitioned during World War I and the increasing mechanization of agriculture. Brief consideration is given to the mop (hiring) fair and the leather fair, before the need for law and order at the fair is reviewed in the book. Initially, this was achieved through the court of Pie Powder, which enabled quick decision-making and arguments to be settled: however, it existed in name only after the seventeenth century and ceased in 1829.

Looking briefly at the parallel Gypsy fair held on the road outside the fairground, the book presents three traditions associated with Weyhill Fair – the wake, the balls and the ‘horning of the colts’. The latter was an initiation ceremony for newcomers to the fair, involving singing and beer. Other aspects of the fair were the trades fair ‘where anything can be bought’ and the pleasure fair with its sideshows and entertainments. A lengthy chapter then examines the literary links to the fair in the form of words, music and film: two silent films were shot partly on the site. Raper finishes by noting the decline of all three fairs: spring, summer and autumn, from the start of the twentieth century. The last remaining fairground booth, along with those of the Farnham hop-growers, are now listed buildings and form part of a Craft and Design Centre opened in 2003.

This book is superbly illustrated with photographs and postcards, primarily from the author’s collection, although the same image of the pleasure fair is used twice (pp. 131, 146). On several occasions, the author draws attention to details that are not visible at the resolution at which the images have been reproduced. From the opening paragraph of chapter 1, there are numerous typographical errors scattered throughout the book, along with several instances of repetition. For example, the horse fair song is presented as a small (unreadable) image of the score (pp. 86–88) with line 6 of the first verse and line 5 of the final verse missing: the whole item is later repeated (pp. 153–155) with readable score, albeit with verses 2 and 3 interchanged. A further example of duplication and inconsistency occurs in a newspaper report presented of a fire in 1764 (p. 70), whilst the report of another fire in 1786 is almost identical, although dated to 1784 (p. 71): finally, this report is again included (p. 120) as part of a larger extract from the 1784 newspaper. The glossary is incomplete (for example, ‘yean’ on p. 57 is not defined), whilst various terms are glossed within the text, rather than in the glossary (‘wind-galled’, ‘roarers’, ‘clickers’ are defined on page 88, and again on page 154). Referencing is minimal with a list of recommended books, rather than a bibliography. In summary, this self-published book contains some fascinating content about an important topic and whilst it is well illustrated, it is poorly presented.