WAG and pen: a weekly focus on the changing face of Wantage by Julie Mabberley of Wantage and Grove Campaign Group (WAGCG)

THE Autumn Festival this weekend and the fair the weekend before made me do a little research into fairs and markets in Wantage.

Records for a fair taking place in Wantage go back as far as 1213.

The fairs were originally held on the feasts of the Translation of St. Thomas the Martyr (July 7) and St. Faith (October 6) and had stalls selling things and providing entertainment very much like the Autumn Festival.

The church took an active part in sponsoring fairs on feast days, and as a result, fairs came to be an important source of revenue for the church.

Medieval fairs were much bigger than the weekly markets, happened a lot less often, and could last several days.

Some merchants spent their lives travelling huge distances on foot or horseback from one fair to the next. The wares varied from those in the markets; they tended to be more exotic, such as jewellery, silk, spices, and perfumes from distant countries.

Although the main objective of the medieval fairs was trade and commerce, every fair contained some element of merry-making.

The entertainment was also more varied than at the markets.

There was always fun at the fair – anything to attract a crowd: acrobats, jugglers, fire-eaters, sword-swallowers and rope walkers were popular. Singers and musicians also provided entertainment. Sometimes performing animals and people came from other countries, the most popular being dancing bears and monkeys.

Wrestling, strength contests, and jousting events (mostly bouts on foot) were held at some fairs.

In 1723 a new fair was instituted in Wantage called the Constable's Fair.

The first fairground rides began to appear in the 18th century; these were small and made of wood and propelled by gangs of boys. Steam powered rides arrived in the 19th century.

There are now fairs on the first Saturday in March, the first Saturday in May, and the first Saturday after October 11. These do concentrate mainly on rides.

To have the old fashioned fairs which were more like markets we have to wait for the Christmas fairs. In Wantage this is the Dickensian evening held on the first Friday in December. Even then most of the stalls are run by local charities and offer food and raffles or tombolas. Entertainment is provided by the Church Choir, the Silver Band and Morris dancers.

Modern Christmas Markets are probably the closest to the old fairs. The nearest ones to us are the traditional German market in Oxford (December 8-18) and the Newbury Christmas Festival (December 1 -18).