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In 1290 Otto de Grandison granted Chelsfield a charter.
". . . There may be one market at my Manor of Chelsfield each week on Monday, and one fair each year, at the same, lasting 3 days. That is on the vigil day and morrow of St. James the Apostle . . ."
Chelsfield Village Society is reviving this charter in the millennium year by way of a Goose Fair on the 22nd July 2000. There are plans for Morris dancing, real ale, Clog dancing, falconry and much more.
Following the fair there will be a barbecue with musical entertainment.
Events will commence at 11am.
| Family of 2 Adults and up to 2 Children | £10 |
| Adult | £5* |
| Senior Citizen | £4* |
| Child | £3* |
The entrance fee will be reduced by £1 for those arriving in pre World War II costume.
The first 2,000 visitors will receive a free Goose Fair neckerchief.
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.
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. Another fair mentioned was the St Matthews Fair held on September 21st which supposedly dates back to Anglo Saxon times. Over 20,000 Geese, arriving from the Fens in Lincolnshire, would be sold to provide the traditional Michaelmas dish.
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 Fair is opened at 12.00 on the Thursday by the Lord Mayor. By 1880 the fair was reduced to a three day event and started on the first Thursday of the month. 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. 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.