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Article: London's last Bartholomew fair: September 3rd, 1855.(MONTHS PAST: THIS MONTH IN HISTORY)
- Article from:
- History Today
- Article date:
- September 1, 2005
- Author:
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THE FAIR WENT ALL the way back to 1133, when Henry I issued the licence for it to a former court entertainer, Rahere, founder of the priory at Smithfield which eventually became St Bartholomew's Hospital. Prior Rahere liked to go to the fair himself and do some juggling, and his foundation drew useful income from it. Held on the open space of Smithfield, just outside the city walls, starting on the eve of the feast day of St Bartholomew in August, it grew into the country's largest cloth fair and London's biggest annual jamboree. From 1604 it was controlled by the City of London and opened every year by the Lord Mayor.
By that time, the fair had become far more ...