A story of nineteenth century local entertainment
By Jill Sullivan, Associate Research Fellow, University of Exeter
In the nineteenth century, one of the most popular annual events in the Exeter calendar was the Easter Fair, which took place in St.Thomas. Sited for much of this period on the Fair Field near Alphington Road and Okehampton Street, the Easter Fair became more and more popular as the century progressed, attracting thousands of visitors to the booths, whirligigs, shooting galleries and side shows. In 1900 the Fair took place on the Old Wrestling Field, Buller Road in St.Thomas and featured major shows such as Hancock's Travelling Fair.
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, fairs such as the St.Thomas Easter Fair featured all the new novelties in entertainments, including panoramas of recent events, the early cinematograph and the bioscope. A current project at the University of Exeter is exploring the different venues and forms in which projected and moving-image entertainments such as these were shown in Exeter between 1820 and 1914. The St.Thomas Easter Fair was an important event for these types of shows but few people now remember it and it seems to have dissapeared, possibly either just before the First World War or later. It's a long time ago, but if anyone has any information or even handed-down memories of the Fair, or of when and why it disappeared, do let me know by leaving a comment below. You can also find out more about the University project by clicking here