St Giles' Fair
Encyclopedia
St Giles', Oxford
St Giles is a wide street leading north from the centre of Oxford, England. At its northern end, the road divides into Woodstock Road to the left and Banbury Road to the right, both major roads through North Oxford. At the southern end, the road continues as Magdalen Street at the junction with...
, a wide thoroughfare in central north Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
It is unusual for an English fair, being held in a major street of a city and blocking traffic for its two-day duration in September each year.
The fair is organised by the Oxford City Council
Oxford City Council
The Oxford City Council provides local government for the city of Oxford in England.- Overview :Between the 2004 local elections, and 2010 the council was in minority administration, first by councillors from the Labour Party, with the Liberal Democrats being the official opposition...
with the London and Home Counties section of the Showmen's Guild of Great Britain
Showmen's Guild of Great Britain
The Showmen's Guild of Great Britain exists to protect the interests of travelling showmen at funfairs in Great Britain.The Showmen's Guild was originally founded as the United Kingdom Van Dwellers Protection Association in 1889 in Salford...
.
The street is closed to traffic for two days each September for this traditional fair. At the same time, the University Parks
University Parks
The Oxford University Parks, more normally the University Parks, or just The Parks to members of the local community, is one large parkland area slightly northeast of the Oxford city centre in England...
are also closed to demonstrate that they are owned by the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
rather than formally being public.
Since the nineteenth century, St Giles' Fair has been held on the Monday and Tuesday following the first Sunday after St Giles' Day (1 September). This means that when 1 September is a Saturday, the fair is held at the earliest possible time (3 & 4 September); but when 1 September is a Sunday, the fair is held at the latest possible time (9 & 10 September).
In 2011 the Fair will be held on 5 & 6 September..
History
The origins of the fair related to St Giles' ChurchSt Giles' Church, Oxford
St. Giles' Church is a church in North Oxford, England. It is at the northern end of the wide thoroughfare of St Giles', at the point where meets Woodstock Road and Banbury Road...
at the north end of St Giles'. This was originally completed in 1120, but the church was not actually consecrated until 1200, by St Hugh of Lincoln, a Carthusian
Carthusian
The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns...
monk and bishop. As part of the commemoration of the consecration, St Giles' Fair was established. The fair continues to this day, nowadays as a funfair
Funfair
A funfair or simply "fair" is a small to medium sized travelling show primarily composed of stalls and other amusements. Larger fairs such as the permanent fairs of cities and seaside resorts might be called a fairground, although technically this should refer to the land where a fair is...
, held on the Monday and Tuesday after the Sunday following 1 September, which is St Giles' Day.
The medieval fair was held in Walton Manor
Walton Manor
Walton Manor is a residential suburb in Oxford, England. It is north of Jericho and the former site of the Radcliffe Infirmary hospital and forms part of North Oxford. The street layout and many of the area's buildings date from the mid-19th century...
, where it took place in the St Giles' churchyard on St Giles Day and during the following week.
Queen Elizabeth I stayed in Oxford between 3–10 September 1567 and watched the fair from the windows of St John's College
St John's College, Oxford
__FORCETOC__St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, one of the larger Oxford colleges with approximately 390 undergraduates, 200 postgraduates and over 100 academic staff. It was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555, whose heart is buried in the chapel of...
on the east side of St Giles'.
Traditionally, anyone with a beershop was allowed to bring barrels of beer to St Giles' Fair for sale.
Another custom was that any householder in St Giles itself could sell beer and spirits during the fair by hanging the bough of a tree over their front door.
The fair evolved from the St Giles' parish wake, first recorded in 1624, and which became known as St Giles' Feast. In the 1780s, it was a toy fair, with cheap items for sale. By 1800, it had become a more general fair with stalls and rides. From the 1830s, the fair included adult amusements and it became more rowdy, so much so that there were calls for it to be closed. By the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
, with train travel excursions becoming available, the fair was attracting people from places as far away as Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
.
In 1930, Oxford's city corporation, now the Oxford City Council
Oxford City Council
The Oxford City Council provides local government for the city of Oxford in England.- Overview :Between the 2004 local elections, and 2010 the council was in minority administration, first by councillors from the Labour Party, with the Liberal Democrats being the official opposition...
, took over the running of the fair.
During the 1930s, the poet John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
described the fair as follows:
It is about the biggest fair in England. The whole of St Giles' and even Magdalen StreetMagdalen StreetMagdalen Street is a short shopping street in central Oxford, England, just north of the original north gate in the city walls.At the southern end, Magdalen Street meets Cornmarket Street continuing to the south, Broad Street to the east and George Street to the west. At the northern end it...
by Elliston and Cavell's right up to and beyond the War Memorial, at the meeting of the Woodstock and BanburyBanbury RoadBanbury Road is a major arterial road in Oxford, England, running from St Giles' at the south end, north towards Banbury through the leafy suburb of North Oxford and Summertown, with its local shopping centre. Parallel and to the west is the Woodstock Road, which it meets at the junction with St...
roads, is thick with freak showFreak showA freak show is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to as "freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, those with both male and female secondary sexual characteristics, people with other extraordinary diseases and...
s, roundaboutsCarouselA carousel , or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders...
, cake-walksCakewalk (carnival game)Cakewalk is a game played at carnivals, funfairs, and fundraising events. It is similar to a raffle and musical chairs. It was supposedly invented by the Revd Lewis Daly after the scales broke for the "guess the weight of the pie" game at the St Margaret's Church annual fete of 1869 in King's...
, the whipThe Whip (ride)The Whip was a ride originally designed and built by W.F. Mangels Company of Coney Island, New York, USA. William F. Mangels patented the ride in 1914 and it soon became an extremely popular ride....
, and the witching wavesWitching WavesWitching Waves is an amusement ride.It was first introduced at Luna Park on Coney Island, New York, USA, in 1907.It was one of the most popular rides at Luna Park, invented by Theophilus Van Kannel, who also invented the revolving door....
.
External links
- Historical photographs, English HeritageEnglish HeritageEnglish Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
- Virtual Tour of St Giles Fair