Members of Abingdon Baptist Church were out taking refreshments round as the Abingdon Michaelmas Fair was being set up in the morning. Their tea tray service has become quite a tradition.

In the evening, the Fair Service at 7 pm was well-attended. The Mayor of Abingdon-on-Thames, Councillor Gwyneth Lewis, thanked everyone who made the fair possible, especially the cleaners who work between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning to make it look as if the fair had never been there. She handed over to Deacon Selina Nisbett, who said, among other things, “As we watch the courageous people who are held upside down on rides, may we remember the inverting message of Jesus’s gospel that the first will be last and the last will be first.”

The Abbey Brass accompanied the singing of the hymns, and then people had a free ride on the carousel horses. Willie Wilson of Bob Wilson’s Funfairs was there behind the scenes to ensure the Fair Service ran smoothly, and made sure the band had light to read their music.

Parking suspension signs have appeared along the route of the Abingdon Michaelmas Fair. This year, parking suspensions have also been extended to East St Helen Street and West St Helen Street, where residents have always been allowed to park during the fair in previous years since they are not on the fair route.

Vehicles parked in suspended areas may be removed, and owners charged a recovery fee. According to a letter to residents from Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council, residents can park in West St Helen Street Car Park from 8am to 10am and 4pm to 6pm, but not from 10am to 4pm without paying.

The fair will take place on 9 and 10 October 2023. The parking suspensions will be in place from 08.00 on Sunday, 8 October, until 9am on Wednesday, 11 October.

The fair took place on Abingdon Market Place, under the County Hall Museum, and in the Guildhall. The Abingdon Town Crier and the Abingdon Town Fryer announced what was happening.

The fair offered advice and guidance on a variety of green issues from One Planet Abingdon

and Abingdon Carbon Cutters.

Oxfordshire County Council offered grants for insulating homes (See https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/retrofit.)

The event showcased a variety of green businesses. There were those promoting new forms of energy such as electric bikes and batteries; electric cars and charging points; solar panels; LED lighting for street lamps and the home.

There were architects and design experts who could help design energy efficiency into the home, and new materials that could be used in the home.

There were also various eco-friendly consumables including pet products; vegan food; re-usable sandwich bags; and wash refills.

A group of sewing machinists worked in the museum basement mending clothes. There were bike checks in the museum undercroft.

There were also talks. One used thermal imaging in different homes to demonstrate examples of good and bad insulation. Insulation needs fitting properly.

Michelle, from One World Abingdon, who helped organise the event, said it gave local green businesses a chance to share what they are doing with the public. (Included in those businesses were Missing Bean on Stert Street, who source their coffee directly from far-flung farms, roast it themselves, and at this event, supported the stallholders with discounted coffees.)

In the 1800s, when the Michaelmas Fair was a hiring and fun fair, the Runaway Fair at Abingdon followed one week after and allowed farm and domestic servants to seek new employment when they were not satisfied with their first employment. The Runaway Fair still follows one week after and is a much smaller fair with children’s rides on the Market Place.

The rides on the Market Place were in position from this Sunday morning.

In previous years the High Street would be closed through Sunday and Monday, but this year there was no closure. Everything was on the Market Place.

Regarding the Michaelmas Fair, the excellent report from the Oxford Journal in 1805 reported over 10,000 people attended …

Abingdon Fair on Monday last was more numerously attended than for several years past. It is supposed that upwards of 10,000 persons were present. – There was a great show of dairy maids, who were hired at very low wages, owing to the late reduced price of cheese. The taskers went off briskly, and at high prices, the Farmers being in a hurry to get their corn thrashed out for market. The numerous gang of pickpockets who attended began to exercise their dexterity very early in the day; and (while the attention of the populace was excited by the beauty of the Grand Turk’s Palace, the wonderful feats of The Little Strong Woman, and the harmony of the Pentonville Organ) contrived to empty the pockets of a poor woman of about forty shillings, a countryman of about £3. and a farmer of his pocket-book, containing notes to a considerable amount. Among the various entertainments was a menagerie of wild beasts, which attracted a great number of people, and among the rest a young farmer and his ‘enamorata’, the latter of whom having offered a nut to a monkey, the ungrateful animal bit her fingers severely; this so enraged her lover that he immediately seized poor pug by the tail, and would have dashed his brains out, but the nimble African sprung at him, and with his paws lacerated his face in a dreadful manner. Adams’s Royal troop of Equestrians and Germans Musicians had also a number of visitors, from whom they reaped a bountiful harvest: a very ludicrous scene took place here, for The Little Learned Horse – being directed to find out that lady who had committed in a matrimonial state what she ought not to have done, in his search accidentally took hold of a lady’s bonnet and pulled it off, bringing with it her cap and false hair, and exposing her bald-pate, to the great amusement of the company. In the evening a number of fine young men were enlisted by the recruiting parties for his Majesty’s service.

Thank you for the extract from Oxford Journal – Saturday 12 October 1805 to the British Newspaper Archive.