St Thomas Easter Fair in the 1880s:
The old world and the new
By Dr. Jill A. Sullivan, Associate Research Fellow, University of Exeter
In the 1880s, the Easter Fair stalls and shows were a mixture of the traditional and the new. In 1881, the fair included toy and sweet stalls, a couple of sparring booths, 'no less than three steam whirligigs of large size - two in the form of bicycle machines and the other of the ordinary horse and carriage pattern', 'high-flyer' swinging boats, shooting galleries and nut standings, as well as 'the shows proper', which comprised an 'Italian skeleton girl', a 'giantess', 'the London Giant Boy', a marionette exhibition, a gymnastic show, and an 'Indian Temple of Wonders'.[1] The Gazette reporter was especially pleased to note that the travelling theatre ('a real House of Thespis on wheels'[2]) - not seen since the early years of the 1870s - had reappeared at the fair:
this year there is to be seen one of the genuine old-fashioned travelling theatres, where, in the short space of half-an-hour, and for the small charge of 3d., the spectator can witness a tragedy of the deepest dye, a burlesque, and a pantomime, while those unfortunates who have no money can feats their eyes on the gorgeously clad ladies and gentlemen who parade on the platform in front of the stage between the performances. It is now so many years since a similar theatre has been seen at the Fair that it might well have been thought that this particular form of entertainment had ceased to exist.[3]
In 1885, Edmonds' Menagerie, which had been tented in the St. James's Road, travelled down to St. Thomas's for the fair, to exhibit its '600 Beasts, Birds and Reptiles' and Captain T. B. Cardono, the Great American Lion Tamer.[4] The following year, Swallow's Circus visited Exeter during the fair week. It had performed at the indoor venue of the Victoria Hall on Queen Street during the winter, but tented at St. Thomas's for the Easter Fair.[5] According to a Post reporter, artistes at the circus included 'Funny Fred Hall and his donkeys, Miss Swallow and her sister, who both ride as gracefully as ever, Fernondez [sic] and D'Altroy, the acrobatic clowns.' The fair also featured waxwork shows along with the 'gilded and brilliantly lit roundabouts [in] the middle of the field', which attracted 'both small and "large" children'.[6] Plus, there were shooting galleries, including a new feature, the 'Mexican shooting-gallery' at which 'the marksman takes aim at a ball which is kept in the air by a small jet of water' although that same jet of water 'then disappears at the moment when its presence is most required.'[7]
The steam-powered roundabouts were especially popular with 'old and young', 'there being quite a rush for outside horses [...] whenever the concern stopped its giddying whirl.'[8] One of the showmen in particular caught the reporter's eye and ear:
The proprietor of one of the waxwork shows was most pathetically eloquent. He stood on the stage outside his brilliantly lighted exhibition, the front of which glittered with gilding and varnish, and dazzled the eyes of the onlooker by the high colouring of its decorative paintings, and with extended arms he implored his audience to witness the marvels of artistic and mechanical skills to be seen within. Then, seemingly overpowered by his emotional feelings, he became speechless, and raised aloft a large tin plate, on which was painted a colossal figure 2, from which we inferred that the sum of twopence would admit one to a waxy paradise.[9]
In 1889, Easter Fair included the novelty of roundabouts that were not only steam-powered but were also 'being worked on an improved system, the horses alternately going up and down', plus the new 'aerial flight or trapeze railway', and a firework display which concluded the festivities each evening.[10]
In 1868, the presence of people distributing religious tracts had been unkindly referred to as 'Maw-worm', but in the 1880s a more organised local body - the Exe Island Mission Society - began to be seen more regularly at the fair field. In 1881, the Mission had a 'small standing' near the entrance where volunteers sold 'Bibles at 6d, Testaments from 4d, and Gospel portions at 1d.' But whilst the novelty of the Society's appearance attracted on-lookers, little was sold.[11] The same society tried to hold an open air mission meeting in the field itself, but 'here again their efforts did not seem to be appreciated.'[12] According to the Gazette, their efforts were similarly unsuccessful on the opening day of the 1882 fair.[13] However, a report published two days later stated that
Many people purchased Bibles and Prayer-books to take home to their friends [...] Nearly 6,000 tracts were distributed, and Gospel addresses were delivered by numerous Christian friends for the space of three hours, during which time large numbers of people assembled to listen, notwithstanding the many counter attractions.[14]
The religious presence at the fair rapidly became one of its modern traditions. In 1886, the Gazette commented that 'as in former years' there would be 'a stall for the sale of Bibles and religious works, presided over by Mr. Eccles.'[15]
Another modern tradition established in the 1880s that was less easily tolerated, was the sale and use of what were termed 'teasers'. These were small pipes which squirted water over unsuspecting victims. They were also termed 'ladies' teasers', as women seemed to be the most regular recipients. Unpopular with many, the Gazette noted in 1886 that there were far fewer 'teaser' vendors at that year's fair and 'it is to be hoped that these obnoxious articles will ere long disappear altogether.'[16] There may have been fewer vendors, but the 'teasers' were still much in evidence that year according to the Post, whose reporter stated that they were 'much used, and used unfairly too, some of the unfortunate sufferers being drenched to the skin.'[17] It was another three years before an 1889 announcement was made, that teasers were to be banned 'and anyone found selling them in the field will be prosecuted.'[18]
The banning of 'teasers' was welcomed in the press, but reviews of the fair during the 1880s often reflected nostalgically on other changes witnessed in the fair field. In 1882 and again in 1883, reporters in the Gazette and Post each noted that the 'ancient glories' of the fair, such as the exhibitions and curiosities had largely disappeared.[19] According to the Gazette report of 1882, the decline was due to a numerous yet unappreciative audience, amongst whom 'the rising generation' were proving difficult to impress.[20] In 1886 the Gazette also suggested that some of the old-fashioned shows were no longer touring: 'it may be that the "sword-swallowers," "magicians," and such-like geniuses who used in former years to occupy so prominent a position have ceased to exist.'[21] And whilst demanding youngsters enjoyed the new steam-driven roundabouts, the machines of 1886 were a cause of nostalgic regret in the Post:
The fun that was obtained by the pushing by numbers of children of the ancient roundabout will no doubt be remembered by many who are now grown into man's estate. But these are now removed, and with the aid of one man and a small steam engine the roundabouts now fly round quicker and perhaps safer.[22]
The travelling theatre was also a cause for comment and recollection in the papers. In 1882, the Gazette attributed their irregular appearances at the Fair to growing competition.
The travelling theatre, however, has had to contend with wandering companies and has suffered in consequence. People are more fastidious than they used to be, and the result is that these exhibitions which used at one time to be the great feature of all fairs, are either being snuffed out, or, rising in the social scale, appear as tenting dramatic companies, who "pitch" in the smaller towns for a week or so at a time, discard the outside free-gratis-for-nothing parade and minuet and have shilling boxes, sixpenny pits, threepenny galleries, and only give one performance in an evening.[23]
And yet, despite the fluctuating fortunes of particular shows, the fair as a whole did not decline. The Western Times report of 1884 even stated that the 'Fair is on a somewhat larger scale than for some years past'.[24] And the Gazette reporter, commenting on the possibility of 'magicians and such like' no longer touring in 1886, also offered a more prosaic explanation for the recent reduction in scale, despite the continuing high numbers of local and excursionist visitors. He suggested that 'although the stalls and shows occupy only half the space they did some years ago' this may have been 'due to the extension of building operations in the neighbourhood of the Fair-field.'[25]
Whilst the attractions of the fair remained constant for the Exeter and district population, concerns regarding the sale and consumption of alcohol (and related behaviour) at the site were once again being expressed by the authorities and echoed in some of the local papers. In 1881 the Exeter magistrates refused several applications for extended licenses for local public houses. Landlords of The Swan in Okehampton, and The Buller's Arms, The Ship, The Railway, The King's Arms, and The Royal Oak in St. Thomas all appealed for their pubs to stay open until midnight on fair nights, but they were all refused; the licensee of the Grapes Inn on South Street, however, was permitted to sell alcohol at the fair field, but only from noon until 7 pm. Following the fair, the local police report to the magistrates stated that there had been no drunkenness at the fair and that 'thanks were due' to the magistrates for their preventative actions.[26] An article in the Western Times, though,undermined this apparently conclusive report, by simply noting that some people had compensated for the licensing restrictions by starting their drinking early in the day.[27] In 1884 a licence was granted to the landlord of the Golden Ball Inn on Mary Arches Street, to sell liquor at the fair field between the hours of noon and 8 pm.[28] In 1885, however, local residents as well as the magistrates and the committee of St. Thomas vestry were all vociferous in preventing liquor licences being granted for the fair field. Both the Post and the Western Times carried reports from the magistrates' court at the Castle of Exeter, where, in mid-April, a Crediton publican applied for a licence to sell liquor at the fair field. The Clerk to the St. Thomas Local Board represented the St. Thomas ratepayers whom, he claimed 'passed a resolution ten months ago against the fair. He characterised the proceedings at the fair as disgraceful'. Furthermore, it was stated (as it had been in earlier decades) that only the 'lowest classes' attended the fair and as police were needed to keep order, extra police were drafted in from the county.[29] The Deputy Chief Constable added that
The fair was a scene of disorder [...] there had been disorder in former years, and there was more or less drunkenness every year. It was merely an excuse for drunkenness.[30]
The magistrates therefore refused the licence. In 1886, a Post report retrospectively applauded that decision, adding that 'consequently a great deal of the rowdyism which had hitherto characterised the occasion disappeared'. The report noted that no applications had been made for the 1886 fair, and forecast that 'the same freedom from drunken brawls may be anticipated.'[31] However, the review of the 1886 fair in the Post applauded the public rather than the authorities for the good behaviour at the fair one evening, where he witnessed
the dense yet constantly moving mass of infinitely varied humanity in all degrees of sobriety, but, with scarcely an exception, all full to the bung of good humour and joviality.There were very few thoroughly drunken persons on the grounds, and this fact is credit to our city.[32]
But magistrates' concerns over the potential for drunken and bad behaviour continued to influence licensing and in 1887 the landlord of the Victoria Inn, in Parr Street, was refused a liquor licence for the fair.[33] A further concern for the local authorities surrounded the day on which the fair opened. Up until the mid-1880s, Easter Fair opened on Easter Monday and ran until the Wednesday evening of that week. However, in 1884 the fair opened on Good Friday and continued to do so for the next few years, although in 1886 the local magistrates agreed to approach the field owner over the matter.[34] The issue remained unresolved in 1887 when, although the police were on duty to stop the public from entering the field, preventing all the fair activities on Good Friday seemed to be well nigh impossible due to
the obstinacy of the proprietor of one erection, who instead of keeping quiet as he had been desired got up steam and played away his hurdy-gurdy "like all that," apparently for the benefit of his would-be patrons that lined the road outside.[35]
In 1888, police again prevented the public from entering the fair field on the Friday or the Saturday, in a continued attempt to control noise levels, although the showmen had already began to encamp in the neighbourhood.[36] According to notices in the Post in 1889, the police activity of the previous two years had been ultimately successful, as the fair that year reverted to its earlier pattern of opening on Easter Monday and running until the Wednesday.
In addition to drinking, noise, and a lack of religious observance, the age-old problem of illegal gambling continued to occur at the fair field. In April 1886 a labourer who appeared before the magistrates charged with gambling on the fair field was fined 20s, or, if he could not pay the fine, 14 days hard labour. According to the Western Times, the labourer's friends paid the fine but his gambling table was confiscated by the authorities.[37] In 1887 an individual was charged with organising gambling at the fair but the fine was considerably less than in the previous year: just 1s. plus 6d. costs.[38] Similarly, in 1889, a man was arrested for playing a game of chance at the fair; a stranger to Exeter he was offered the choice of a fine and costs of 15s. 2d., or fourteen days in prison.[39]
It is evident that although reviews of the fair tended to focus on the wonders of the shows and commented on the crowds enjoying the fair with their friends and families, that drunkenness, fights, bad behaviour and gambling at the field and in the vicinity recurred throughout the period. Some reporters noted such activities as part of the range of human life on display over the three days, but others used those activities as a founding reason to banish the whole event. Such comments emerged with a particular force in the late 1880s, aided by the latest development in local newspapers, the gossip column. In 1886, the Post column 'Over the Walnuts and Wine' contained an extended diatribe which reflected Victorian concerns to encourage rational and improving recreational activities, rather than frivolous and potentially sinful amusements.
There needs, however, very strong advocacy to defend with any success the existence of the so-called pleasure fairs. The sights at these degenerate spectacles are anything but fair, the sounds anything but charming, and the pleasure merely a ghastly mimicry of enjoyment. It would be a distinct gain to St. Thomas if the Easter fair could be quietly burked and buried before public neglect puts a stop to its disgusting reveals [sic]. [...] if rational pleasure could be brought rather more within reach of the very poor, and the poor pleasures of dirty merry-go-rounds and squalid shooting-galleries could be rendered by education less desirable, the last link that binds the enjoyment of the people to the lower manners and customs of their forefathers would thin out, snap, and be gone.[40]
A dislike of 'degenerate fairs', which had apparently become nothing more than 'gathering places subversive of morality and productive of all sorts of petty swindling and cheating', was sustained in the editorial columns of the Post that year.[41] And whilst a reporter who visited the fair the following week delightedly expended a full column in describing the shows and crowds, the editorial stance clearly prompted his final sentence which concluded that '[t]aken as a whole, the fair is hardly equal to its predecessors, and its utter extinction would be no matter for regret.[42]
The Western Times that year provided a contrasting and non-judgmental overview of the fair, instead emphasising the humanity of the showmen. The paper ran a report on a visit to the fair by a party of fifty children, old people and what were termed 'imbeciles' from the St. Thomas Union, or Workhouse:
They experienced the greatest kindness from the "show" people, who not only admitted them gratuitously to their booths, but vied with each other in otherwise contributing to their comfort and general enjoyment. [It was] a red-letter day in the monotony of their existence.[43]
And in 1889, the Western Times report emphasised the 'innocent fun' to be had visiting the variety of stalls and rides at the fair which its author felt displayed 'a general improvement' in its character. According to this report, the fair was not a pernicious event and a haunt of impoverished delinquents. Instead, it attracted 'a number of country cousins', amongst a crowd that was largely comprised of Exeter citizens, and who, importantly, 'embraced all classes as well as ages'.[44] As with other events in and around the city, the divided responses of the local press reflected different attitudes among the local population: of dislike, tolerance, affection, and curiosity. Ultimately, as a Western Times reviewer stated, 'the fair shows no sign of declining in popular favour'.[45]
Footnotes
[1] Gazette Telegram, 19 April 1881, p. 2 and Western Times, 19 April 1881, p. 5.
[2] Western Times, 19 April 1881, p. 5.
[3] Gazette Telegram, 19 April 1881, p. 2.
[4] Post, 1 April 1885, p. 4.
[5] Gazette, 22 April 1886, p. 5.
[6] Post, 24 April 1886, p. 2.
[7] Gazette, 30 April 1886, p. 3.
[8] Post, 27 April 1886, p. 2.
[9] Post, 27 April 1886, p. 2.
[10] Post, 22 April 1889, p. 3.
[11] Western Times , 19 April 1881, p. 5.
[12] Gazette Telegram, 19 April 1881, p. 2.
[13] Gazette Daily Telegram, 11 April 1882, p. 2.
[14] Gazette, 13 April 1882, p. 2.
[15] Gazette, 30 April 1886, p. 3.
[16] Gazette, 30 April 1886, p. 3.
[17] Post, 27 April 1886, p. 2.
[18] Gazette, 30 April 1886, p. 3 and Post 10 April 1889, p. 2.
[19] Gazette Daily Telegram, 11 April 1882, p. 2 and Post, 28 March 1883, p. 8.
[20] Gazette Daily Telegram, 11 April 1882, p. 2.
[21] Gazette, 30 April 1886, p. 3.
[22] Post, 24 April 1886, p. 2.
[23] Gazette Daily Telegram, 11 April 1882, p. 2.
[24] Western Times, 15 April 1884, p. 5.
[25] Gazette, 30 April 1886, p. 3.
[26] Post, 13 April 1881, p. 3 and 20 April 1881, p. 7, and Western Times, 14 April 1881, p. 6..
[27] Western Times, 19 April 1881, p. 5.
[28] Post, 5 March 1884, p. 5.
[29] Western Times, 20 March 1884, p. 2.
[30] Post, 18 March 1885, p. 5.
[31] Post, 24 April 1886, p. 2.
[32] Post, 27 April 1886, p. 2.
[33] Western Times, 7 April 1887, p. 2.
[34] Post, 27 April 1886, p. 2.
[35] Western Times, 12 April 1887, p. 3.
[36] Western Times, 23 March 1888, p. 5.
[37] Post, 28 April 1886, p. 2 and Western Times, 30 April 1886, p. 6.
[38] Western Times, 15 April 1887, p. 2.
[39] Post, 23 April 1889, p. 2.
[40] Post, 28 April, 1886.
[41] Post, 24 April 1886, p. 2.
[42] Post, 27 April 1886, p. 2.
[43] Western Times, 4 May 1886, p. 7.
[44] Western Times, 3 April 1888, p. 5.
[45] Western Times, 23 April 1889, p. 5.