Ebernoe Horn Fair is held in the small Sussex village of Ebernoe, the location of which is about five miles north of Petworth (). The fair is held annually on Saint James's Day, 25 July. The tradition is centuries old though it appears to have been revived in 1864 after a long lapse. The celebration is held on the village common and the main attraction is a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

match between Ebernoe and a nearby village. Towards the end of the day the highest scoring

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...

is presented with a set of horns. These are taken from a

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

which has been roasted during the day. It is thought the presentation of horns is associated with the custom of dressing up with horns as a symbol of cuckoldry (a cuckold is an old

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

term for a man whose wife has had an adulterous affair. It relates to the

cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...

, a bird which lays its eggs in another bird's nest). Centuries ago horn fairs were boisterous events where cuckoldry and seduction would not be unknown. The practice of dressing up with horns is alluded to in the traditional Horn Fair Song. The old saying ''All's fair at Horn Fair'' probably originates from such events. In days gone by it seems that Ebernoe Fair was often beset by

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are some ...

s. However, the storms were taken as a good luck sign and farmers would look forward to a good harvest. The absence of a storm would suggest the crops would fail. Ebernoe Horn Fair was also the day on which gardeners were reminded to sow their spring cabbages. There was no fair in 1915–18, 1940–45 and 2020.

Horn Fair song

As I was a-walking one fine summer morn, So soft was the wind and the waves on the corn. I met a pretty damsel upon a grey mare, And she was a-riding upon a grey mare. "Now take me up behind you fair maid for to ride", "Oh no and then, Oh no, for my mammy she would chide, And then my dear old daddy would beat me full sore, And never let me ride on his grey mare no more." "If you would see Horn Fair you must walk on your way, I will not let you ride on my grey mare today, You'd rumple all my muslin and uncurl my hair, And leave me all distrest to be seen at Horn Fair." "O fairest of damsels, how can you say No? With you I do intend to Horn Fair for to go, We'll join the best of company when we do get there, With horns on their heads, boys, the finest at the Fair. They are the finest horns you did ever behold, They are the finest horns and are gilded with gold. So merrily, right merrily, to Horn Fair we did go, A jolly brisk couple boys, and all in a row."Journal of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, Dec 1957 This song also seems to have been used at a Horn Fair at Charlton in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

which, after a history dating at least from the 16th century, died out in 1872. In 1951 Mr Morrish of Great Allfields Farm, Balls Cross reintroduced the song. Mr Tom Stemp, then aged 75, said he could well remember it being sung by an old Ebernoe woodman, David Baker, who died in 1943 at the age of eighty. The folk duo

Spiers and Boden Spiers and Boden are an English folk duo. John Spiers plays melodeon and concertina, while Jon Boden sings and plays fiddle and guitar while stamping the rhythm on a stomp box. Spiers and Boden were founding members of the folk band Bellow ...

also sing this version of the song.

References

External links

Lurgashall winning teams with the horns
{{coord, 51.04309, N, 0.61061, W, region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SU975280)_type:event, display=title Annual fairs History of West Sussex Fairs in England Annual events in England West Sussex folklore 1864 festivals Festivals established in 1864 July events