The Sponsorship boards for this year’s Rowlands Castle Village Fair have been erected around the village.

As you can see:

• this year’s main sponsors are Henry Adams Estate Agents
• and the event is on the first Saturday of July – ie the 5th.

But it’s not always been that way. With the help of the Rowlands Castle Heritage Centre and Rowlands Castle Historical Society we’ve dug into the past ( recent and distant ) and discovered a little more.

The very early days

From Brian Tompkinson Rowlands Castle History & Heritage ( RCH&H).

Historically, two fairs a year were held on the Green in Rowlands Castle, which acted as a “funnel” for livestock being returned from grazing within the Forest of Bere. The beginning of the original fairs is obscure because there are no known grants or charters authorising them, but it is thought that they could date back to before the conquest. 

The timings of the fairs are significant; the 12th of May marked the date of the Spring turnout when the tenants’ commonable livestock was turned out onto Idsworth Common from where it would find its way into the Forest. The fair provided an opportunity for commoners to buy and sell livestock before the turnout and for other goods and services to be traded. 

The 12th November was the time of the winter heyning when the tenants’ horses and cattle were rounded up and removed from the commons, providing another opportunity to buy and sell.

It is also thought that they may also have served as “hiring fairs” where servants for local estates were taken on.

The earliest written account of the fairs is in a poem written in 1829 which bemoaned the fact that the fair had degenerated to just the sale of a few “grunters” (pigs).

1973 – the start of the modern fair

The modern Fair as we know it today, started in 1973. RCH&H have recently inherited RCA magazines and Village Fair programmes from a number of sources. We have not had the opportunity to list and catalogue them yet but it will be one of the first tasks. We hope to do this very soon, once we have moved into the Parish Hall which will be the new location for our archives.

Paul Marshman takes up the story…

The first of the new village fayres was held on The Green on 2nd June 1973. It was primarily a children’s fayre organised by the RCA and Frank Philpot.

Apparently some villagers thought it wasn’t quite good enough, and so organised the next one themselves. By 1974 a dedicated village fayre committee had formed, chaired by Betty Seeley. This fayre was larger and more inclusive – though still with a focus on children.

In 1975, the Parish Council granted the committee £100 towards costs. However other records suggest that the fayre had by then already donated towards new play equipment for the recreation ground. Interestingly, the RCA accounts for 1975 make no mention of the village fayre, neither as income nor expenditure.

Recent years – since COVID

Since the fair restarted after the COVID pandemic, one notable change is the removal of the marquee that once dominated the eastern end of the Green.

The event is now a continuous all day affair, officially starting at 11am and finishing at 11pm with FREE live music throughout.

Food and drink are available all day, thanks to the efforts of the Village Fair Committee and a fantastic team of volunteers.

The Horticultural Show, which this year is being run by the Rowlands Castle Gardening Club, will be in the Parish Hall, from noon to 4.30pm

For more information see About RCVF.

Don’t forget!
This year – 2025 – the first Saturday of July falls on the 5th.