Funfairs

This weekend sees the start of the Annual Feast in the neighbouring village of Metheringham. Starting in the afternoon and continuing through the evening the village high street will be taken over by all manner of kinds of stalls and the village will be packed by local people, together with many of their families who have moved away but have returned for the annual pilgrimage. Part of the feast will be the traditional funfair attempting to lure the revellers with its variety of thrilling rides, games of skill stalls, loud music and bright lights. But what do we know about the origins of the British funfair?

Fairs in this country have a long and ancient history, deeply rooted in tradition. The word fair is derived from the Latin 'feria', meaning a holiday and at one time the Romans were credited with the introduction of fairs. It is generally accepted now that they have their origins in the pagan customs of the people who first settled this land, their seasonal gatherings held for the purpose of both trade and festivity, contained within them the essential elements of the fair.

The Romans did much to promote fairs by improving trade and communications throughout the country. During the centuries following the departure of the Romans, many fairs and other festivals were incorporated into the calendar of the growing Christian Church.

Charters granted by the sovereign gave the fair legal status and an increasing importance in the economic life of the nation. Merchants and traders from Europe, the middle east and beyond were drawn to the great chartered fairs of the Middle Ages bringing with them a wealth of goods. The sheer number of these fairs - no fewer than 4860 were chartered between the years 1200 and 1400 - drew not only merchants but entertainers as well: jugglers, musicians and tumblers - the ancestors of todays showmen. The Black Death of 1348-49 brought about a new kind of fair.

In order to stem the rise in wages caused by the shortage of workers, Edward III introduced the Statute of Labourers. This compelled all able bodied men to present themselves annually for hire at a stated wage. These gathering or hiring fairs were held mainly around Michealmas, the end of the agricultural year.

By the early eighteenth century the trading aspects of the charter fairs had waned and most fairs consisted almost entirely of amusements, acrobats, illusionists and theatrical companies all plied their trade on fairgrounds. Around this time the first fairground rides began to appear, small crudely constructed out of wood and propelled by gangs of boys. In 1866, Frederick Savage, a successful agricultural engineer from Kings Lynn, devised a method of driving rides by steam. His invention, a steam engine mounted in the centre of the ride was to transform the fairground industry. Freed from the limitations of muscle power, rides could be made larger, more capacious and more heavily ornamental. The showman's demand for novelty was matched by the ingenuity of savage and other engineers. In the wake of the steam revolution an amazing variety of new designs and rides appeared.

These rides were the forerunners of todays amazing thrill rides, over time innovations such as electric lighting, electric motors, hydraulics etc. allowed rides to evolve into the amazing devices that are seen today at any local fairground.