The October Stow Horse Fair is on or around October 24th each year.
I checked and this year's historic October Fair was on the 23rd.
It was 41 miles from Cam and the autumn colours were breathtaking all the way. There was a slow moving traffic queue entering Stow-on-the-Wold and signs directed visitors to a large field car park on the north side of town.
The sun was shining on this bright October morn. The fair itself was
between the Oddington and Maugersbury Roads on the south side of town.
Numerous stallholders were selling everything from decorative cushions to house signs, decorative lamps and paintings. A lot of saddlery gear was also for sale. Horses too were being traded. There were some modern caravans but a large quantity of traditional Romany caravans. Palmists were plying their trade.
Several campfires were keeping the gipsies warm. Over one a tasty stew was being brewed. It all made for a colourful and splendid scene of a way of life little changed over the centuries.
- John Wilkes |
The gipsy horse fair attracts hundreds of sightseers to Stow twice a year. Gipsies gather from all corners of England for a meet and greet and hundreds of horses are paraded and sold, all in one day. It's quite a sight! So how did it all begin and why Stow-on-the-Wold. As you might expect, when dealing with a Cotswold tradition, you have to go back a very long way.
The Abbey of Evesham had obtained the Manor of Stow in 714 AD and their responsibility to the settlement was not only spiritual but also economic. Because of Stow's unique position at the convergence of eight trackways, it developed a capacity for trade. Travelers and traders from Wales and the west, from the Midlands and the Thames Valley would pass this way as would the carriers of salt from Worcestershire, fish from the Severn estuary and iron and charcoal from the Forest of Dean, all on their way to markets where they could sell or exchange their goods. Stow was able to provide foods, shelter and stabling and because it was producing a surplus of farm produce could sell to the travelers. Stow was also able to sell the products of what we now call rural crafts such as weaving and spinning, pottery, saddlery and harness making. A regular exchange of goods took place and kind of informal market developed. After the Norman Conquest, contacts between England and the continent expanded via agents based in London and Stow was now within reach of travelers bringing more exotic goods such as silk and spices.
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The Normans were quick to encourage the creation of markets on Manor land as this ensured an outlet for surplus goods from the estates, and brought in a steady income. After the 11th century, there was a marked increase in urban development because of an acceptance of a more structured approach to trade and marketing. So, when the abbot of Evesham appealed to Henry 1 in 1107 for official recognition of the market in Stow it was readily granted. The charter gave the abbot and the people of Stow the right to hold their market every Thursday in the square, and to fix a payment for those who wished to use it. Over time, additions and concessions were acquired from the king so that Stow gained considerable status over other towns in the Cotswolds. A market cross was erected as a symbol to people that they could do business safely and honestly. It's interesting to note that this market continued for 800 years, only ceasing about 1900.The Market Cross in the market square at Stow-on-the-Wold
In 1476 the abbot petitioned for a charter for two fairs, the first in May and the second in October. The charters were granted for May 12th, the feast of Saints Philip and James and the October 24th the feast of St. Edward the Confessor and these dates are still used today to decide the gipsy horse fair.
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