Mop Fair
Encyclopedia
Mop Fairs are a feature of many English towns and are traditionally held on or around "Old Michaelmas Day". They originated as a Hiring fair
and their history dates back some 600 to 700 years.
head. The 'tassle' worn on their lapel was the emblem of the employee's trade was known as a 'mop' — hence the phrase Mop Fair.
Employers would move amongst them discussing experience and terms, once agreement was reached the employer would give the employee a small token of money and the employee would remove the item signifying their trade and wear bright ribbons to indicate they had been hired. They would then spend the token amongst the stalls set up at the fair which would be selling food and drink and offering games to play.
Michaelmas Day is celebrated on 29 September but Mop Fairs were tied to the seasons and the harvest, not the calendar. When the Gregorian calendar
was adopted in 1752 and eleven days dropped from that year events associated with the end of the harvest moved eleven days later to 10 October. This date is known as "Old Michaelmas Day" and since 1752 has been the date Mop Fairs take place.
Mops usually last for two days and take over the centre of the town, they attract thousands of visitors. In recent times the Mops have become little more than a funfair
with the traditional reason for the fair playing no part. Many of the rides at the Mop are fast, brightly lit and very noisy but traditional rides such as carousels
and helter-skelters will still be found though their days may be numbered as visitors more and more ignore them for their more modern competitors.
s surrounded by a large number of smaller villages, hence their obvious choice as the location for the Mop.
Hiring fair
Hiring fairs were also called statute, or mop fairs. They date from the time of Edward III, and his attempt to regulate the labour market by the Statute of Labourers in 1351 at a time of a serious national shortage of labour after the Black Death...
and their history dates back some 600 to 700 years.
History
Farm workers, labourers, servants and some craftsmen would work for their employer from October to October. At the end of the employment they would attend the Mop Fair dressed in their Sunday best clothes and carrying an item signifying their trade. A servant with no particular skills would carry a mopMop
A mop is a mass or bundle of coarse strings or yarn, etc., or a piece of cloth, sponge, or other absorbent material, attached to a pole or stick. It is used to soak up liquid, for cleaning floors and other surfaces, or to mop up dust, or for other cleaning purposes...
head. The 'tassle' worn on their lapel was the emblem of the employee's trade was known as a 'mop' — hence the phrase Mop Fair.
Employers would move amongst them discussing experience and terms, once agreement was reached the employer would give the employee a small token of money and the employee would remove the item signifying their trade and wear bright ribbons to indicate they had been hired. They would then spend the token amongst the stalls set up at the fair which would be selling food and drink and offering games to play.
Michaelmas Day is celebrated on 29 September but Mop Fairs were tied to the seasons and the harvest, not the calendar. When the Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
was adopted in 1752 and eleven days dropped from that year events associated with the end of the harvest moved eleven days later to 10 October. This date is known as "Old Michaelmas Day" and since 1752 has been the date Mop Fairs take place.
Modern Mops
Mops are still held in some English towns, though many have died out. Some fairs have adopted the term Mop, though they are usually not held on or near to Michaelmas Day or they are a recent creation.Mops usually last for two days and take over the centre of the town, they attract thousands of visitors. In recent times the Mops have become little more than 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...
with the traditional reason for the fair playing no part. Many of the rides at the Mop are fast, brightly lit and very noisy but traditional rides such as carousels
Carousel
A carousel , or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders...
and helter-skelters will still be found though their days may be numbered as visitors more and more ignore them for their more modern competitors.
Mop towns
The following towns have a history of holding Mops and still hold one each year on or around Michaelmas Day. A theme common to these towns is that they were, several hundred years ago, medium-sized thriving market townMarket town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
s surrounded by a large number of smaller villages, hence their obvious choice as the location for the Mop.
- AlcesterAlcesterAlcester is an old market town of Roman origin at the junction of the River Alne and River Arrow in Warwickshire, England. It is situated approximately west of Stratford-upon-Avon, and 8 miles south of Redditch, close to the Worcestershire border...
- BanburyBanburyBanbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
- Chipping Norton
- Chipping SodburyChipping SodburyChipping Sodbury is a market town in the county of South Gloucestershire, south-west England, founded in the 12th century by William Crassus . The villages of Old Sodbury and Little Sodbury are nearby...
- CirencesterCirencesterCirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...
- DaventryDaventryDaventry is a market town in Northamptonshire, England, with a population of 22,367 .-Geography:The town is also the administrative centre of the larger Daventry district, which has a population of 71,838. The town is 77 miles north-northwest of London, 13.9 miles west of Northampton and 10.2...
- EveshamEveshamEvesham is a market town and a civil parish in the Local Authority District of Wychavon in the county of Worcestershire, England with a population of 22,000. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon...
- Kings NortonKings NortonKings Norton is an area of Birmingham, England. It is also a Birmingham City Council ward within the formal district of Northfield.-History:...
- Marlborough
- Moreton in Marsh
- Stratford upon Avon
- TewkesburyTewkesburyTewkesbury is a town in Gloucestershire, England. It stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon, and also minor tributaries the Swilgate and Carrant Brook...
- WarwickWarwickWarwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon, south of Coventry and just west of Leamington Spa and Whitnash with which it is conjoined. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 23,350...
- SouthamSouthamSoutham is a small market town in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. The 2001 census recorded a population of 6,509 in the town.The nearest sizeable town to Southam is Leamington Spa, located roughly 7 miles to the west...
External links
- Tewkesbury Fair Society
- BBC article on Stratford Mop 2002
- Article about Tewkesbury Mop Fair from SoGlos.comSoGlos.comSoGlos.com is an online magazine for Gloucestershire covering Cheltenham, the Cotswolds, the Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Stroud and Tewkesbury – with an editorial remit focused on arts, entertainment and leisure.-Overview and ownership:...