Visitors flock to Fordington green for St George's Day Fair

The sun was shining and a large red and white flag blew in the wind above St George’s Church opposite the village green.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the fair, which is organised by the church. According to the legend, St George was a soldier in the Roman army who killed a dragon and saved a princess.

Maggie Carter, chairman of the church’s events committee, said they have a responsibility to keep the ‘important community tradition’ alive and that there isn’t enough events in the area which bring people together.

Hilary Attwell, another member of the events committee, said the St George’s Day Fair is the church’s main fundraiser of the year.

She added: "There has been a fair held on the village green on St George’s Day for over 600 years, originally it would be for selling animals and food and there would be fire eaters or jugglers who would perform."

She explained that the committee tries to bring in new activities and games to keep the event fun.

This year, the fair was given a medieval theme and there was archery, a hog roast, Morris dancers, stocks and more activities on offer.

Purbeck Archery Club, invited visitors to give archery a go and shoot at a few targets.

Kenn Duffield, chairman of the club, said: "I am happy we have been able to support the event.

"We do a lot of shows like Cattistock in the summer and this is another string to our bow, it’s good to be able to get out and do it."

The event was made even more special because it fell on Her Majesty The Queen’s 92nd birthday. To mark the occasion, the Durnovaria Silver Band performed the national anthem God Save The Queen.

Visitors said they enjoyed the afternoon which had a ‘good atmosphere’ and lots of friendly faces.

Nancy Keys, who was visiting Fordington from Australia said she didn’t realise the fair was on and was pleasantly surprised when having a look around.

She added: “It has been wonderful. I’ve had a really good cup cake and have bought lots of raffle tickets.”

Jodie Legg said: “It has been very good. It’s the first year we have been, we heard that it was going on so came down.”

David and Margaret Nichols, who live near the village green, said: “We have been coming here since the 60s. We live very near to the church, so we popped over to have a look.

“We have been looking at the stalls and have bought a few books. It is always a good fate and we like to support the community.”

David and Vicky Louch said: “It is the first we have been, it’s lovely, I like the community feel, there's a good atmosphere. It seems to have drawn a lot of people in and the weather has helped.”