Traditions in St. Thomas
By Dr. Jill A. Sullivan, Associate Research Fellow, University of Exeter
As in the sixteenth century, the Fair in the early nineteenth century ran for three days, with the difference that in the later period it started on Easter Monday and continued in that week, until the Wednesday evening. An established annual event, the Fair was evidently very popular: the Exeter diarist James Cossins recalled that 'after dinner crowds of people with their children from all parts of the city were seen wending their way to it'.[1]
Itinerant showmen, as well as troops of performers, travelling (or 'portable') theatres and circuses appeared at fairs throughout the country and, according to Cossins, Horde's Theatre visited Exeter in the 1820s, where the admission prices were 3d. to the dress boxes, 2d. to the pit, and 1d. to the galley.[2] The repertoire of travelling theatres could be surprisingly varied, from short harlequinades, farces, spectacles and sensational melodramas, to contemporary dramas, and abridged versions of Shakespeare's plays.[3] Some theatres and shows would re-visit the Exeter Fair each year, usually as part of a touring circuit that would visit all the major fairs in the region and, in doing so, became part of the local tradition. In 1826 a reporter for the Gazette expressed surprised that a particular Punch and Judy show had not visited that year and that the absence of Mr. Samuel's collection of shows had meant that the fair
exhibited but few of the motley amusements which have been witnessed in former years [...] but they were compensated for this omission by the theatrical corps of Mr. Scowton, whose dramatic amusements superseded the tricks of Samuel's troop, so long the caterers of fun to the gaping throng.[4]
Three years later, in 1829, the variety of shows on offer appears to have increased again, and in these early reports, a pattern begins to emerge, of the type of shows and stalls that would appear time and again at the Fair in the nineteenth century: the theatre, tightrope walkers, slack-wire performers, clowns, and conjurers, the sweetmeat stalls and the gingerbread stands, as well as curiosities such as the 'learned horse' and 'sapient pig'.[5] In addition to the main fair field, other activities also attracted participants and audiences. Wrestling matches frequently took place at the fairs of the early nineteenth century, and, on occasions, bull-baiting, a practice deplored in the local press. In 1826 an additional attraction was supplied by a woman who set out to walk fifty miles in ten hours on the same patch of land:
a quarter of a mile piece of ground was selected from the Lamb and Lion public-house towards the Dinsford Turnpike-Gate, she accomplished the task with ease in 8 hours and a half, having 2 hours to spare - her reward was the voluntary contributions of the by-standers.[6]
Rarely was enjoyment of the fair confined to the fair fields. Cossins recollected how
On the approach of evening the streets were the promenade, and the "publics" were not forgotten, one or two fiddlers being engaged in each house for a dance [...]. It was also an occasion for housekeepers to invite their friends to tea and have a look at the passing crowd.[7]
Cossins emphasised the sociability of the fair days and evenings for local people, but the attractions of the 'publics' were a source of concern for many middle-class observers. Indeed, not all reporters were united in their response to the fair; local press reports throughout the nineteenth century varied considerably: from fascination to outright disapproval and from participatory observation to nostalgic hearsay.
Footnotes
[1] Post, 14 March 1877, p. 7, and Western Times, 16 March 1877, p. 2. See also, Cossins Reminiscences, p. 71.
[2] Cossins, p. 72.
[3] Josephine Harrop, Victorian Portable Theatres (London: Society for Theatre Research, 1989) pp. 60-61
[4] Gazette, 1 April 1826, p. [3].
[5] Gazette , 1 April 1826, p. [3].
[6] EFP, 30 March 1826, p. 4.
[7] Cossins Reminiscences, p. 72.