{"id":11571,"date":"2020-06-28T17:43:41","date_gmt":"2020-06-28T16:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marthamnorfolk.co.uk\/?page_id=11571"},"modified":"2026-07-11T12:04:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T11:04:54","slug":"fairs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/marthamnorfolk.co.uk\/?page_id=11571","title":{"rendered":"Fairs & Carnivals of Martham"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fairs & Carnivals of Martham (1480 to 1940)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wonderful Village Green <\/a><\/em>in Martham has been used for fairs, carnivals and sports since the earliest of times.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Early carnival sports on the Village Green<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The earliest official record of a fair being allowed to be held in Martham dates back to 17th<\/sup> July 1480 when King Edward IV (1461-1483) gave permission to John the Prior of Norwich Cathedral for a fair to be held at Martham on 5th<\/sup> & 6th<\/sup> days of August each year. This is the actual wording recorded in the Calendar of the Patent Rolls 1476-1485*, at the time:<\/p>\n\n\n

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In 1778 a newspaper advert shown below announced when the fair was to be held.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Announcement printed by J. Crouse of the Market Place, Norwich in 1778.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

William Rising (1769-1846), farmer, of Somerton and Martham and the largest landowner in his time describes attending Martham Fair on 25th<\/sup> July 1815 in his farming diary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fairs were not always approved of by the upper classes and the church and we get one man\u2019s view of Martham fair in Robert Porter\u2019s little book \u201cThe Strangers Guide Book for the Polite Village of Martham\u201d<\/a> <\/em>which was published in 1830 and in which he describes the fair as follows:-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn Martham, a fair is held on the last Tuesday and Wednesday of July, annually, which is fully attended by people of a certain class from the neighbourhood as well as light fingered and (was tailed?) gentry from Yarmouth and elsewhere, that like misery in the Proverb, being many acquainted with strange bedfellows, and by no means tend to aid in improving the morals of the residents \u2013 this is held on The Green<\/a>, and the Lord\u2019s deputy provides the materials for buildings stalls, booths in remuneration for which, and for the standing \u2013 the Lord\u2019s receipts are about \u00a310 which are collected amongst those who attend the fair, either to sell or exhibit.\u201d  <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most fairs started out as markets with the primary purpose of trade but they typically included some elements of entertainment, such as dance, music or tournaments. Both fairs and markets were important occasions in social life. According to White\u2019s Directory <\/a><\/em>of 1836  Martham\u2019s fair was also used as a horse fair whilst hiring fairs for servants were held on about 25th<\/sup> March (Lady Day) and on 29th<\/sup> September (Michaelmas) but by 1846 Hunt\u2019s Directory<\/a><\/em> reported that Martham\u2019s fair was \u2018chiefly for pleasure\u2019.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some annual fairs provided a chance for landowners to employ new hands who were often employed on an annual agreement. So, these occasions steadily became hiring fairs. Some of these fairs attracted other popular trappings and they turned into major feasts and gained reputations for drunkenness and immorality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the mid 19th<\/sup> century religious condemnation and public opinion, that had turned against hiring fairs, was being widely voiced and consequently the local elite and the church began to take action to get fairs banned. This resulted in an Act of Parliament being passed in 1871 empowering the Secretary of State for the Home Office, on petition, to make orders for the abolition of fairs.  Ratification of a request for abolition was not, however, a foregone conclusion. Martham\u2019s fair was a case in point.  It received official authorisation for abolition in 1872 on the recommendation of the Magistrates. The Lord of the Manor<\/a><\/em>, however, later claimed that his consent had not been obtained and the order was rescinded, allowing the fair to continue.  After a short lapse, the annual fair was revived in July 1876 and was held over a Tuesday & Wednesday and was said to have include gingerbread and nut stalls, two roller coasters and a steam roundabout.
Nevertheless, a record in the National Archives says the fair was finally abolished in 1900.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officially abolished or not it seems the popularity of these events or something like them continued especially during the inter-war years. Fairs in the form of professionally provided coconut shies, helter-skelters and bumper cars continued to visit the village based on a circuit that included Acle, Potter Heigham and Great Yarmouth as well as Martham. The old time hiring and trading fairs evolved into events that included carnivals and processions, sometimes including sporting or games. In 1936 and 1938 a full programme of events took place including the crowning of a carnival King and Queen. These are photos from carnival events in 1936 and 1938.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1938<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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1938 parade<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The parade 1938<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Pole balancing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Looking east on Martham Green depicting the Decorated Cycle Competition in 1919. Some competitors in fancy dress, some bicycle wheels decorated. Photographer unknown.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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1938<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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1938 parade<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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1938<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Tug-o-war<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Sports and games<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Newspaper report of carnival in 1936<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Photographs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n