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Barnet Fair is an annual horse and pleasure fair held near Mays Lane, Barnet,
Barnet Fair is an annual horse and pleasure fair held near Mays Lane, Barnet, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, on the first Monday in September.
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 whenQueen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
El ...
granted a charter to the Lord of the Manor of Barnet to hold a fair twice yearly, in addition to the weekly Barnet Market. Originally held in June and October, Lord John Tomlinson changed the dates to April and September in 1758 for the reason of improving business. From 1881, the April fair ceased.
The focus of the fair was its livestock, with animals being brought from across the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. In 1834, ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' reported that Barnet Fair was England's largest cattle market, with up to 40,000 animals on display.
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.
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'.Julian Franklyn, ''A Dictionary of Rhyming Slang'' (Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...
, 1960).
"Barnet Fair" is the name of a song by Steeleye Span.
See also
References
External links
{{commons category inline, Barnet Fair 1588 establishments in England Recurring events established in 1588 Fairs in England September events History of the London Borough of Barnet Chipping Barnet Equestrian festivals Festivals established in 1588 Charter fair Autumn events in England