Sue Cook presents the series that examines listeners' historical queries, exploring avenues of research and uncovering mysteries.
Lee Gap Horse FairÌý
Listener's query
"I was born at Batley in Yorkshire. As a child in the 1930s I used to be taken to the Lee Gap Horse Fair which was always claimed to be the oldest in the country. I think there were two parts of it: Upper Lee and Latter Lee. It was at West Ardsley but I've always wondered if it was the oldest horse fair."
Brief summary
Lee Gap Horse Fair is certainly very ancient. At its height, it would last for three weeks around St Bartholomew's Day. It is still going and takes place on two days. First of Lee is on 17 August, St Bartholomew's Day and Latter Lee is on 17 September.
Tom Leadley, who chairs the committee which runs the Fair, is justly proud of keeping it going and has studied its origins. He says that King Stephen confirmed an earlier Royal Charter granted by King Edward I. The King Stephen Charter was in 1136. Tom says that the Charter does not tie the fair into any one site, it just requires that it be held in the parish of Woolkirk or the township of West Ardsley. The fair has moved to various sites over the years. Originally it was a wool fair. When the horse was king - on the battlefield, on the land and as transport - thousands of horses would be bought and sold in such fairs up and down the country. A spit on the palm and a shake of the hand and the deal was done. There are photographs and illustrations of the Lee Gap Horse Fair. The oldest illustration is from the 18th century.
Dr Vanessa Toulmin of the National Fair Ground Archive at Sheffield University points out that claims to be the oldest fair are often very difficult to prove. Continuity is the absolute test and this is difficult to establish. It is even more difficult to match a particular fair precisely to a particular charter.
As Tom Leadley points out: "At Nostell Priory itself, King Stephen allowed a five-day fair at nearby Nostell Priory. This fair was to take place on St Oswald's Feast Day, 9 August. This fair," he says, "was discontinued centuries ago, but it seemed to be very similar to those for Woodkirk Fair."
Experts consulted
Tom Leadley, Fair Committee chair
Dr Vanessa Toulmin, National Fairground Archive, Sheffield University
Further reading
David Kerr Cameron, The English Fair (Sutton Publishing, 1998)
E. Alan Jones, Yorkshire Gypsy Fairs, Customs and Caravans 1885-1985 (Hutton Press Ltd, 1986)
Ellen Wedemeyer Moore, Fairs of Medieval England (Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, 1985)
Websites
Further information
National Fairground Archive
Main Library, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN
Email: fairground@sheffield.ac.uk
Tel: 0114 222 7231
Fax: 0114 222 7290
Website:
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Vanessa has presentedÌýscience and current affairs programmes for ±«Óãtv, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Discovery and has presented for ±«Óãtv Radio 4 & Five Live and a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph and the Mail on Sunday, Scotsman and Sunday Herald.Ìý
Contact Making History
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Making History
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Vanessa has presentedÌýscience and current affairs programmes for ±«Óãtv, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Discovery and has presented for ±«Óãtv Radio 4 & Five Live and a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph and the Mail on Sunday, Scotsman and Sunday Herald.Ìý