THIS past weekend has seen the village of Evershot hold its Country Fair.

Local resident Lee Wicks has been digging into the history books to find out more about the origins of the fair.

It dates back to 1286 when a charter was granted by Edward 1.

Fairs were important trading and social occasions in the rural calendar that combined serious business with the excitement of rivalry and revelry.

In the morning, a bell rang out to proclaim the start of trading.

The hire of labour and negotiation of rates ran alongside the bartering of livestock and various wares that came from within and far beyond the county borders.

From the 1600s, it was common for long distance pack horse trains to criss-cross England transporting merchandise to the town shops and country fairs.

Seasonal walnuts, dried lings, reed mats, barrels of pitch and tar, ‘cleane soape’, harvest gloves and books both old and new were some of the items offered for sale.

George Alexander Cooke’s copious travelling index of 1822 thought it important to provide his readers with details of the many fairs.

He recommended Evershot’s Annual fair for its ‘Bullocks and Toys’.

These toys were not so much children’s play things but a Victorian description of interesting knick-knacks, shell enamelled snuff boxes and stone bottles.

The fair was more than goods and labour trading. After a morning of serious transactions, the afternoon was given over to drinking, dancing, strolling players and athletic contests.

In recognition of the central role the fair held within a community and the excitement it generated in a largely young population, employers wisely gave permission for a day off rather than deal with mass absenteeism.

Evershot’s population in the 1800s averaged 500 people, over half of which were under 30 years of age.

The significance of a fair in the rural psyche of individuals is apparent when it is linked to other important events.

A hand bill drawn up by Charles Warren of Marnhull, Dorset, set out his requirement for a new wife as ‘my wife been dead 12 months ago, last Stroton (sic) Fair’ and he required ‘a good steady women between 30 and 40 years old’ to look after his three young children and his pigs.