Stourbridge fair
The first such fair was held in 1211 around the Feast of the Holy Cross (14 September) on the open land of Stourbridge Common alongside the River Cam.
[4][5] An 18th century rhyme offered another explanation: Stirbitch Fair — its name it does derive From some poor clothiers that from thence did thrive; As they were travelling over the Brook Stour, Their goods fell in and wetted were all o'er; They hung them up in order for to dry, And people bought them fast as they past by -— Having such luck, together did agree, That they the next year would come the same way; Again they came, again success they found, And 'stablish'd Stirbitch Fair upon that ground.
The luxury items included pewter ware, glass, silks, velvets, linens, almonds, spices and iron goods.
As the fair grew to become the largest in Europe the prosperity of the Leper Chapel was assured, with the position of a priest there among the most lucrative jobs in the Church of England.
Holding the fair in September allowed farmers to sell goods in the quiet period between harvest and ploughing, and the fact that it was out of term time meant that University tradesmen could also participate.
Local barrister Jacob Butler, who, in 1714, inherited Abbey House and the surrounding land, which played host to the fair, reportedly attempted to re-establish the ancient custom that stalls still standing on Michaelmas could be demolished, by driving his carriage through piles of uncleared crockery.
The local provincial and metropolitan shops began to be the place where the wealthy were purchasing expensive textiles and novelty products.
Due to the local availability of expensive textiles and other luxury items, the fair became a place strictly for wholesale commerce.
As the Victorian town grew, the common became surrounded by poor housing, and the rich visitors became disinclined to visit a potentially dangerous area.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth century, the fair's national status was underlined by writers such as Samuel Pepys and Edward Ward who wrote of the experience.
John Bunyan used the event as the inspiration for the Vanity Fair in Pilgrim's Progress, which in turn was used by William Makepeace Thackeray for his most celebrated novel.
He is also believed to have acquired optical instruments including a pair of prisms, which he used to demonstrate that white light could be split into the colours of the spectrum.
[17] Daniel Defoe visited the fair and wrote at length of it in his Tour through the whole island of Great Britain, stating: He described the huge variety of merchandise, with stalls including "goldsmiths, toyshops, brasiers, turners, milliners, haberdashers, hatters, mercers, drapers, pewterers, china-warehouses, and in a word all trades that can be named in London.
