Appleby and other Horse Fairs
Appleby Fair, held each June in Appleby, Cumbria, is probably the best known of the horse fairs attended by Romany families travelling to meet up with old friends and conduct business [1].
The autumn fair at Brough, also in Cumbria, has a charter date of 1330, and these two fairs, the largest and most popular in the North of England, were frequently visited by the members of the Gypsy Lore Society, as documented in the GLS archive.
The GLS collections also include illustrations of Yorkshire fairs, such as Yarm Fair (October) and Topcliffe Fair (July, closed in 1970), which have been well-documented by Alan Jones [2] and Peter Saunders [3]. In the South of England, the GLS photographer Fred Shaw recorded Gypsies at Barnet Fair (Hertfordshire), Mitcham Fair (Surrey) and at the Epsom Derby. Many other gatherings, including those in Wales, Scotland and Ireland are mentioned in letters to GLS members, some enclosing postcard views.
More information
- National Fairground Archive
- (2000) Saunders, Peter Gypsies and Travellers in their own words [3] (Leeds: Leeds Traveller Education Service)
- (1998) Thorburn, Gordon and John Baxter The Appleby rai - travelling people on a thousand-year journey [with many photographs] (Appleby-in-Westmorland: Fido Publishing)
- (1986) Jones, E Alan Yorkshire Gypsy fairs, customs and caravans, 1885-1985 [2] (Beverley, Yorkshire: Hutton Press)
- (1976) Ezard, John 'Gypsy children write of life on the road' [1] in The Guardian September 27, 1976
- (1966) Wade, R A R 'The saving of Appleby Fair' in JGLS (3rd series) 45 (1-2), pp29-39