The Sloe Fair is a

travelling funfair A traveling carnival (US English), usually simply called a carnival, or travelling funfair (UK English), is an amusement show that may be made up of amusement rides, food vendors, merchandise vendors, games of chance and skill, thrill acts, ...

that is held annually on 20 October at Northgate carpark in

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

, West Sussex. The fair was first held in 1107Chichester District Council: 12th–13th century
or 1108 after King Henry I of the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. On 1 ...

granted

Ralph de Luffa Ralph de Luffa (or Ralph Luffa (died 1123) was an English bishop of Chichester, from 1091 to 1123. He built extensively on his cathedral as well as being praised by contemporary writers as an exemplary bishop. He took little part in the Investit ...

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East and West Sussex. The see is based in the City of Chichester where the bishop's seat ...

, the right to hold a fair for a period of eight days from a date of de Luffa's choosing. The fair was originally chosen to coincide with the Feast of

Saint Faith Saint Faith or Saint Faith of Conques (Latin: Sancta Fides; French: Sainte-Foy; Spanish: Santa Fe) is a saint who is said to have been a girl or young woman of Agen in Aquitaine. Her legend recounts how she was arrested during persecution of Chr ...

the

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

on 6 October, a Gallo-Romano

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

with a strong following in the area, but in 1207 a license was awarded for the fair to be held several days later, on the Vigil of the

Feast of the Holy Trinity Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: the ...

and the eight days thereafter. It is, however, unclear whether the date of the fair was actually changed, and according to records held in the library of

Chichester Cathedral Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of the ...

, as late as the 18th Century the Court of Piepowders that was held on the occasion of the fair took place between the Feast of Saint Faith and the Eve of Saint Edward the Confessor, on 12 October. The name "Sloe Fair" is believed to be a reference to a

sloe ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalized in New Zealand, Tasmania ...

tree that grew on the original site of the fair, in a field just outside Chichester's North Gate. In its heyday, the fair attracted traders and visitors from across

Southern England Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes G ...

. Though the specific form of the event has changed over the centuries, the Sloe Fair continues to be held in the modern era. The Sloe Fair was not held during World War II and during the hostilities a

caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

was placed at the site at which the fair is held, to prevent the right to hold a fair from lapsing. The modern Sloe Fair is organized by the

Showmen's Guild of Great Britain The Showmen's Guild of Great Britain exists to protect the interests of Travelling Showmen in Great Britain. The Showmen's Guild was founded as the United Kingdom Van Dwellers Protection Association in 1889 in Salford. The formation of the guild ...

and the main attractions are mechanical fairground rides. In 2009, it was reported in the local press that the Showmens' Guild's right to hold the Sloe Fair stood in the way of proposals to construct a

multi-storey car park A multistorey car park (British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a build ...

on the site of Northgate carpark, where the fair is held. In 2020 the Sloe Fair was not held for the first time since World War 2 with the exception of a small non-operating ride due to a walk in by appointment Covid-19 test centre being put in the car park.

Notes

{{Reflist Annual fairs Chichester