Microcosm of London Plate 008 - Bartholomew Fair (colour)

The Bartholomew Fair was one of London's pre-eminent summer

charter fair A charter fair in England is a street fair or market which was established by Royal Charter. Many charter fairs date back to the Middle Ages, with their heyday occurring during the 13th century. Originally, most charter fairs started as street marke ...

s. A charter for the fair was granted to

Rahere Rahere (pronounced ), or Raher or Raherius, was an Anglo-Norman priest and monk. He was a favourite of King Henry I and is most famous for having founded the Priory of the Hospital of St Bartholomew in 1123. Many of the details of Rahere's li ...

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...

to fund the Priory of St Bartholomew; and from 1133 to 1855 it took place each year on 24 August within the precincts of the Priory at

West Smithfield Smithfield, properly known as West Smithfield, is a district located in Central London, part of Farringdon Without, the most westerly ward of the City of London, England. Smithfield is home to a number of City institutions, such as St Bartho ...

, outside

Aldersgate Aldersgate is a Ward of the City of London, named after one of the northern gates in the London Wall which once enclosed the City. The Ward of Aldersgate is traditionally divided into Aldersgate Within and Aldersgate Without, the suffix denot ...

of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

. The fair continued, after the

Dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...

within the

liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

of the parish of

St Bartholomew-the-Great The Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great, sometimes abbreviated to Great St Bart's, is a medieval church in the Church of England's Diocese of London located in Smithfield within the City of London. The building was founded as an Augusti ...

Description

The site of Bartholomew Fair was the south-east side of Smithfield roundabout and was originally a cloth fair. Originally chartered as a three-day event, it would last a full two weeks in the 17th century; but in 1691, it was shortened to only four days. With a change in the calendar, the fair commenced on 3 September from 1753. A trading event for cloth and other goods as well as a pleasure fair, the event drew crowds from all classes of English society. It was customary for the

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

to open the fair on St Bartholomew's Eve. The Mayor would stop at

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...

to accept a cup of sack (fortified white wine) from the governor. The Merchant Taylors Guild processed to Cloth Fair to test the measures for cloth, using their standard silver yard, until 1854. The annual fair grew to become the chief cloth sale in the kingdom. By 1641, the fair had achieved international importance. It had outgrown the former location along Cloth Fair, and around the Priory graveyard to now cover four parishes: Christ Church,

Great Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

and Little St Bartholomew’s and St Sepulchre’s. The fair featured sideshows, prize-fighters, musicians, wire-walkers, acrobats, puppets, freaks and wild animals. The fair was suppressed in 1855 by the City authorities for encouraging

debauchery Debauchery may refer to: * Corruption *Libertinism *Lust * Binge drinking * Currency debasement *Debauchery (band), a German death metal band See also *''Sodom, or the Quintessence of Debauchery'', a 1684 closet drama. *LGBT rights in Kuwait ...

and public disorder. The ''

Newgate Calendar ''The Newgate Calendar'', subtitled ''The Malefactors' Bloody Register'', was a popular work of improving literature in the 18th and 19th centuries. Originally a monthly bulletin of executions, produced by the Keeper of Newgate Prison in Lo ...

'' had denounced the fair as a "school of vice which has initiated more youth into the habits of villainy than

Newgate Newgate was one of the historic seven gates of the London Wall around the City of London and one of the six which date back to Roman times. Newgate lay on the west side of the wall and the road issuing from it headed over the River Fleet to Mid ...

itself."

In literature and art

Bodleian Libraries, Bartholomew Fair, 1721

The Bartholomew Fair is the setting for ''

Bartholomew Fair The Bartholomew Fair was one of London's pre-eminent summer charter fairs. A charter for the fair was granted to Rahere by Henry I to fund the Priory of St Bartholomew; and from 1133 to 1855 it took place each year on 24 August within the preci ...

'', a play by

Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...

wrote about the fair in his diary. John Evelyn also refers in his diary to having visited "the celebrated follies of Bartholomew Fair" on 16 August 1648 . In

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...

's ''Moll Flanders'' (1722) the heroine meets a well-dressed gentleman at the fair. In Wordsworth's ''The Prelude'' (1805) mention is made of the ''din'' and the ''Indians and dwarfs'' at the fair. The Bartholomew Fair of 1845 features as the primary location of The

Wireless Theatre Company The Wireless Theatre Company is an online audio theatre company specializing in creating modern audio drama. It was founded in July 2007 by Mariele Runacre Temple, daughter of actress Jenny Runacre. Overview The company produces radio drama, au ...

's "The Carnival Of Horrors", the second episode of "

The Springheel Saga ''The Springheel Saga'' is a drama audio series about the Victorian bogeyman, Spring-heeled Jack, written by Jack Bowman and Robert Valentine, and produced by The Wireless Theatre Company. The first series, ''The Strange Case of Springheel'd Jac ...

, Series Two: The Legend of Springheel'd Jack".

References

;Attribution *

External links

{{authority control Annual fairs Social history of London Entertainment in London 1133 establishments in England Fairs in England Annual events in London 1855 disestablishments in England Festivals established in 1133 1855 festivals Charter fair