What is a Goose Fair?

Michaelmas Day, properly named the day of Michael and All Angels, is a great festival of the Roman Church and also observed as a feast by the Church of England. It falls on the 29th September and, in England, is one of the four quarterly terms or quarter-days on which rents are paid.

He who eats goose on Michaelmas day
shan't money lack or debts to pay.

Up to the mid 20th century it was a prevalent English custom to have a goose for dinner. Indeed, Queen Elizabeth I is said to have been eating her Michaelmas goose when the news of the defeat of the Spanish Armada was brought to her.

To supply the huge quantity of geese required for the Michaelmas Day feast, there would be Goose Fairs all over England. The most famous of all goose fairs is the Nottingham Goose Fair which has been held for over 700 years.

In the late 20th century the few days before Christmas day (25th December in the UK) would find butchers throughout British Isles with queues of people collecting their Christmas meat. Turkey has become the traditional fare for the Christmas meal. Not so long ago, goose was traditionally eaten on Christmas day.

Chelsfield Goose Fair

Please see our archives for the Chelsfield Goose Fair that was organised by the Chelsfield Village Society on the 22nd July 2000. The Chelsfield Village Society were reviving a charter, granted in 1290

Nottingham's Goose Fair

2020

This popular funfair has been cancelled for only the ninth time in its 700-year history. The fair is one of the UK's largest, attracting more than 420,000 visitors over five days. An outbreak of bubonic plague in 1646 and the two world wars are the only times the fair has been cancelled before the 2020 Goose Fair was cancelled due to COVID-19.

2006

Opening Times

Opening Times
October 4th - Wednesday 5.30pm-11.00pm
October 5th - Thursday 12noon-11.00pm
October 6th - Friday 11.00am-11.30pm
October 7th - Saturday 11.00am-11.00pm
October 8th - Sunday 11.30am-6.00pm

Nottingham Tourist Information

Telephone: City Information Centre: 0844 477 5678

View details - a PDF file 480kB.

Pre 1066 - The Danes

The Danes had a settlement in Nottingham and it is very likely they established a market. As markets and fairs are known to have common origins, they may well have also held a fair. So, it is just possible that Goose Fair could have its roots in an event which occurred more than a thousand years ago.

Pre 1284 - The St Matthew's Fair

The Charter granted in 1284 by Edward I mentioned another pre-existing fair, the St Matthew's Fair, which was held on September 21st which supposedly dates back to Anglo Saxon times.

However, the main fair for the people of Nottingham in terms of trade and economy was the Lenton Fair held at Lenton Priory from 1164 onwards.

1284 - The Charter of King Edward I

A Charter granted in 1284 by Edward I authorised the burgesses of Nottingham to hold a fair on the eve of the feast of St Edmund and for twelve days following. Over 20,000 Geese, arriving from the Fens in Lincolnshire, would be sold to provide the traditional Michaelmas dish.

The term Goose Fair was first mentioned in the Nottingham Borough Records of 1541. In the Chamberlain's accounts, there is a reference to an allowance of 1s 10d (about £0.09) for 22 stalls taken by the city's two Sheriffs on Goose Fair Day.

All manner of things were sold at the Goose Fair: sheep, horse, cattle, as well as geese and, as at Weyhill Fair in Wessex with the wife-selling scene from Mayor of Casterbridge, women were also sold at Nottingham.

The Lenton Priory Fair

In the middle ages Lenton Priory fair overshadowed the Goose Fair in size and importance, Harrisons Calendar of Fairs for 1587 mentions the Lenton Fair but not the Goose Fair. However, Nottingham competed with its local rival and the arrival of over 20,000 Geese from the Fens in Lincolnshire would be sold to provide the traditional Michaelmas dish.

1752 - The Goose Fair Date is changed

1752 is a very significant year in the English calendar. This is the year that the Gregorian calendar was adopted by Great Britain. It modified the Julian calendar in order to correct the accumulated errors of 11 minutes 10 seconds in each Julian year. Great Britain removed 11 days (3rd to 13th) in September 1752 when it adopted the Gregorian calendar. For more information see the unusual calendar of 1752.

It is likely that the Goose Fair was moved from September 21st to early October 2nd to take account of the 11 days that were removed from the calendar. Country folk were more likely to live by the seasons and not be the actual calendar. So it could be that the livestock would not be ready 11 calendar days earlier.

The Cheese Riots of 1764

An increase of a third on the price of cheese, compared with the previous year, resulted in the outraged punters launching an attack on the stall holders at the fair. Huge cheeses were bowled down the street, with the frightened owners following them. Finally the Dragoons had to be sent in to control the mob after the attempts by the local mayor had resulted in his dignity being flattened by a 100lb cheese.

1876 - The Goose Fair Reduced to a Five Day Festival

The Charter granted in 1284 by Edward I allowed for a fair of twelve days. By the late 19th century that had reduced to eight days. Even then, some people questioned the need to have a Goose Fair for the whole eight days for what had changed from a medieval livestock and food fair to a largely pleasure festival. In 1876 the decision was made to reduced the Goose Fair to five days. In 1880 the Goose Fair was further reduced to a three day event and started on the first Thursday of October.

1928 - The Goose Fair Moves

The original Goose Fair had been held in the Great Market Place in Nottingham. A part of the Great Market Place is now called the Old Market Square and is known locally as Slab Square.

The Goose Fair, by now, was a national institution and each year it seemed to be growing larger. There had been many calls for it to be restricted even further or moved to a new site as it was adversely affecting the normal daily life of Nottingham residents. In the 1920s the City Council decided to replace the Exchange and the Shambles with a new civic building, the Council House, and shops. The Council thought the existing market place provided an inappropriate setting for such a grand new building.

As the Great Market Place was redesigned it was clear that there was no place for Goose Fair. On the Sunday evening before the last Fair in the Great Market Place, a public meeting of 12,000 people was held in the Square to protest about the move. Speakers included Pat Collins, President of the Showman's Guild, and a resolution was passed objecting to the move. Despite this public outcry, the Council stood firm and a new site was found in 1928.

In 1928 the fair was moved from the Market Square to its present site on the Forest Recreation Ground on the outskirts of the city centre.

The Fair is opened at 12.00 on the Thursday by the Lord Mayor and started on the first Thursday of the month. Despite attempts throughout its history to prevent the fair, Nottingham Goose fair has survived to celebrate over seven centuries of fun.

The Nottingham Goose fair is held annually on the Forest Recreation Ground from the first Wednesday in October for 5 days.

How Did the Goose Fair Get it's Name

The most likely reason is due to the 20,000 Geese, arriving from the Fens in Lincolnshire, would be sold to provide the traditional Michaelmas dish. This may be true because the fair is held at the time of year when geese are in their prime and roast goose was for centuries a traditional Michaelmas treat

An old story said the name Goose Fair came about after an angler caught a pike in the River Trent. "Perched high in the air a wild goose aspied the fish, secured it and carried it off with rod, line and angler attached." After the goose dropped the angler, uninjured, in the Market Place, the old story goes that a holiday and the Fair was set up to celebrate.