The Oyster fayre
 

Having become accustomed to Colchester's history fairs as 
major public events in the Eastern Counties, in Summer 2003 
we shall mount a fair with a name that will easily be remembered 
and recognizable as an event that could only have come 
from Colchester, the home of the Native oyster. 

On June 14th & 15th we intend to mount a full medieval fair, 
with many of the peripheral activities that this major annual event 
would have offered. It will remember the time when folk 
from the countryside and neighbouring villages 
would travel to the ‘Big Fair’ in the town. 

View the Handbill

We shall set our fair in the period mid-15th to mid-16th century. 
We shall not be able to offer the traditional street fair in the town, 
due to the limitations of the High Street, so we shall 
gather together on Lower Castle Park all the colour and activities 
of an historic, traditional country fair that we can muster.
 

Crucial to such a past gathering would have been the Market. 
Here we will show avenues of stalls selling the everyday items 
along with less common goods that our ancestors
would have needed to see them through the coming year. 
Anything from a pin to a full suit of armour may well have been on sale. 
A great many pitches using authentic tentage or booths will be there.

Each trader will have been carefully vetted, so that only true merchandise suitable for the traditional market is provided. Maybe 
a great wheel for spinning, or linen for making clothes, new bowls for cooking, or leather to repair shoes. All will be there and on sale.


Perishable goods such as grain, fruit, vegetables and meat would normally have been purchased at weekly markets, so should not 
be expected at the Oyster Fayre. There will however be a large tented area on the periphery of the fair, where traders selling 21st century 
artefacts or with modern booths can pitch their stalls, 
alongside local and regional history societies. 

Of course no fair is complete without side-shows. 
We hope to have a good variety of fair games for all to play, 
some with prizes, so roll up and ‘Splat the rat’. 


The Colchester History Fayre Trust, over the past three fairs, concentrated on the military aspect of the chosen theme for its spectacular on both days. We intend this time to withdraw from large battle scenarios, owing to the cost involved in staging such displays and the considerable work involved in making the site safe for the public. 

Therefore, at the Oyster Fayre, there will be no display of 
massed troops, but instead, a tourney ring or combat area. 
Here we can stage hand-to-hand armed combat, 
demonstrating the use of various weapons and armour, 
with a referee to ensure that things don't get out of hand. 
Visitors will have the opportunity to try on armour 
and feel the weapons, such as bill and poleaxe, at first hand. 
The true weight of a mail shirt never ceases to amaze the public. 

During the weekend we hope to introduce Oyster Wrestling. 
Tussling was always common at fairs but we will make life difficult for our combatants by greasing then down in Goose fat before they fight 
for the honour of being ‘Champion of the Fayre’. We may even have combatants tied together to make the bouts a little more entertaining. 


Everyone went to the fair, and let's face it, there were not many other opportunities for entertainment and socializing in those meaner times. So, expect to see some strange fellows or hear unfamiliar cries. 
Market cries and announcements from the Reeves are intended to be all-pervading. Itinerants and beggars may demand food or alms, or a wandering trader may ask you to stand awhile as he shows his wares.
 

Dance and drama will be heavily featured. Demonstrations of
‘common’ dance will be programmed throughout the day.
The public will be invited to participate in the simpler dances, 
with instruction in the trickier ones available. An area for players will be assigned, where a large group of Mummers can perform their plays. There will be other performing areas where individuals can story-tell 
or recite poems, and players can show dramatic interludes. 
Here again we may have singers, jugglers, tumblers and stilt walkers.

One way of ‘cocking a snook’ at your betters was 
to hide behind a puppet. We will have two puppet troupes 
performing at various times during the day.


Archery was all-important. Until the middle of the C16th it was 
the main weapon of combat and also of sport. All men of fighting age were expected to practice at the butts, once a week, usually after church on Sunday. So a ‘close’ will be set up, with butts for practice 
and competition. Here again the public will be invited to ‘have a go’.
Demonstrators and instructors will be on hand to ensure 
a safe representation of this aspect of medieval life. 

Skilled archers, from far and wide, will be invited to take part in 
a Costumed competition. We hope to attract 80 of the best 
longbow archers in the kingdom. This will feature various targets throughout the grounds, in areas of increasing difficulty, 
including mock animals, hanging and purse targets. 
An ‘Archer of the Fayre’ Golden Arrow will be the main prize.

Archery was the sport for the common man, whilst Falconry 
was that of the Gentry classes. We will endeavour to display 
this side of medieval life too, by the flying of hawks in the arena.
Not only will there be two flying demonstrations a day, 
but the birds will be on show in the hunting Pavilion,
for all to view and maybe even hold.
 

No fair is complete without those who have travelled miles to be there. We will see many costumed individuals mingling with the C 21st public at the stalls and side shows. Some will be invited, some will come out of interest or to buy those vital pieces of kit, and we expect that a few locals may even wish to dress up. 
We will also invite re-enactment societies, who specialize in 
Living History, to set up small encampments and go about their 
daily routine. Certainly outsiders would have slept in their carts 
and stalls, and a bustling community of travellers and traders 
would have established its camp for the duration of the fair. 

Among these re-enactors, many will be responding to the call to prayer, or in court attendance, or bartering with stall holders and wanderers, 
or even dancing. Some will be cooking, some gaming, and some just practising good old creative idleness. Some tents will be open for the curious to inspect, but remember to keep your hands to yourself lest you be caught by the Fayre Constable or his patrolling Henchmen.

Tradesmen and demonstrators will be on hand in an area adjacent to the market stalls, where they can show their art and skills in industries such as pottery, spinning, shoemaking, candle dipping, tailoring, sword making, fletching and bow making, to name but a few. Maybe the public will be able to buy from the artisans, or just marvel at their dexterity.


To service such a productive and consuming fair, we will require food, drink and supplies ‘many and various’. We also intend to set up a tented tavern where fine ales and meads can be purchased by all attending the fair. Staffed by the curious and frequented by the questionable, it may not be the place to linger long, lest you get involved in the unexpected. 

Food must needs be available, and we shall of course have to resign ourselves to modern standards of presentation at the fair, but we will attempt to conceal what would be otherwise anachronistic. 
We shall have plenty of modern food outlets for the visitors' pleasure outside the fair perimeter, but cooking will be on show 
and maybe hot pie and chestnut sellers roaming.

Finally, to feed the soul, lots of music. Strolling musicians and players will always be in evidence. Be it loud or soft, you will never be far from the pipe or drum. Groups of players will be attending, wandering, 
or setting up for formal recitals or spontaneous improvisation.
 

We must not forget the nobility, nor, at the very least our Town Mayor, 
or was he the Sheriff or Bailiff in times past?  Apart from the Mayor, there will be important landowners and stallholders, 
visiting gentry and other nobles at the fair. 

We intend to raise a Dais at the fair, where dignitaries may meet, 
to represent the Market Hall. During the day various activities 
will take place around this ‘central board’, such as the paying 
of market fees, and the collecting of tithes and fines. Music of the 
more formal kind, court dance, recitals, and official announcements 
by the High Steward or Town Crier will be made from here. 

The Grand Opening and Closing of the fair and the awarding of prizes 
will also take place on the Dais. The Mayor will of course open the Fair, 
and his Insignia will fly on a pole over the Dais ‘till the Fayre be done’.

We hope that the fair will attract re-enactors from far and wide, not only wanting to participate in this unique experiment, but also just visiting and adding to the colour and atmosphere. Maybe they will purchase treasured items not seen elsewhere, or just say ‘I was at Colchester’. Interest has already come from across the UK and near Continent. 

Here is an opportunity to bring together the best historical interpreters and medieval artisans in the country. Bring to Colchester the largest medieval fair and market anywhere in Britain. Help to make it a reality. Join us in June and you too can be part of this exciting event:
 

The Oyster fayre 2003
 
 

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