The Michaelmas Fair in Abingdon was set up in the years following 1349 when Black Death swept the country. Laborers had become scarce and a new law was introduced to regulate wages – to be set at the Michaelmas Quarter Sessions.

In Abingdon the annual hiring fair was held on the Monday following Michaelmas and has continued to this day. Its importance as a hiring fair has long since disappered.

There is now a mile long Street Fair stretching from the Market Place to the end of Ock Street – held on the Monday, and Tuesday, before October 11th.

2015 is another year, and the Fun Fair was set up this Sunday morning with a lot of hard work and logistical experience.

It is the first year that the new Mayott House, independent living scheme, on Ock Street, has experienced the Fair, and for three days it looks like Sunset Strip.

There has been a religious service of sorts, at the start of the Michalemas Fair, for a very long time. Mr Woodford, Father and Son, have offered Woodford’s Golden Galloping Horses as a venue in the last few decades.

There was a short service with hymns and a blessing took place this evening at the Galloping Horses. But for family reasons Mr Woodford could not be there and so Hebborns of Oxford helped out with their carousel.

Then everybody was given a free ride on the horses.

The service used to be a chance for the town to show their appreciation to the show people. Back in the Abingdon Herald of 14th October 1882 it says “The show people were regaled at the Liberal Hall with a substantial tea, to which over a hundred did justice, and after their bodily wants had been satisfied, addresses, interspersed with hymns, were given.

The morning rain cleared, and by late afternoon patches of blue sky appeared. Sunlight even dazzled some fair goers as the sun went down. The crowds of fair goers included mostly young families at first, young adults predominated later on.

There was one new ride this year at the top of Ock Street – called Star Flyer. It is like a giant version of ‘chair o planes’.

As always there were many activities for the children that parents could watch and photograph.

Then there were the stalls selling candy floss, burgers and chips, donuts, and other fun fair foods.

There were games of chance. You could win a prize by throwing darts, shooting a rifle or bow, or throwing balls at great speed at coconuts. There was a hook-a-duck, a hook-a-whale, and a hook-a-super-hero, and an amusement arcade.

There were also the smaller vendors with helium balloons, glow sticks or glow whirls -things for the children to take home.

We don’t have shows at The Abingdon Fair in 2014, unlike 100 years ago in 1914, but there is a fortune teller in a caravan: Gypsy Maria Lee started telling fortunes at a young age, having inherited the gift from her mother who inherited the gift from her mother … all the way back from the original Gypsy Lee.

Larger rides this year included: Woodford’s Golden Galloping Horses, Bodycount, Meteorite, Walzer, Tagado, Dominator, Powershot, Superbowl, Tornado 2, Twister,

STORM, Extreme, Froggit, Crazy Bulls, Roller, Star Flyer…

and dodgems. By the way I was asked to mention “The Oxfordshire County Council hearing on the proposed Crossing changes on Ock Street and Marcham Road will be held next Thurs 9th in Oxford at 10.30am. It is too late for written comment now but if anyone wished to speak, they would need to give one day`s notice.”

As usual Abingdon Fair has been well publicised with posters in shops, and dayglo boards on numerous lamp posts all over Abingdon.

The road diversions were in place at about 9am and very soon after that stall holders were measuring out their pitches for stalls and setting up rides.

Brian, pictured above, remembers going to the Fair as a 4 year old, which is about 60 years ago.

He said there used to be huge crowds for the Fair Service at the Galloping Horses on Ock Street. In this picture taken in 1964, and shown in the North Berks Herald, there were an estimated 500 people. Rev. Graham West led the half hour service.

50 years later, the Galloping Horses and the Fairground Service are in the Market Place. I’d estimate there were 120 people. Pastor Ed Evans, from the Abingdon Community Church led the half hour service.