Stow Fair

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In 1476 King Edward IV granted Stow the right to hold two horse fairs; one on the 12th May and the other on the 24th October. Since then, Stow has been a traditional meeting place for Gypsies.

In days gone by, the horse fairs were often the only chance Gypsies had to meet up with relatives and friends, hear the news and swap family information. As a little boy I used to run wild all day and sit by the campfire and listen to the old folk talk late into the night.

I don't know how many Stow fairs I have left, but it was good to see that my children and grandchildren will carry on the tradition.

Below are a few pictures, some I have captioned, most are self-explanatory.


The first picture is a "perspective" shot, taken before most people arrive.

The second pic is Me with my granddaughter Lisa and grandsons Tom and Ben on the frontboard of my daughter Kelly's bow top waggon. This type of waggon, with a sheet at the front instead of doors is called an "Open Lot"

The third pic is Kelly doing the cooking.

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Dogs and Gypsies just go together somehow. the first pic could have been me 40 odd years ago

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The horses. This group are IMHO the cream of a very good crop.

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Mrs Red and I did a lot of our courting in a D series Ford similar to the one below (Circa 1965)

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Bedford TK

These have a bed behind the drivers seat, I used to keep cage birds on mine.

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Bedford "J" type

Me and my mam used to collect scrap iron and old rags with one of these.

[The_nun]

Lovely pic's Tom

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The campfire. Food is cooked , tales are told, lessons are learned, and a way of life becomes ingrained along with the smoke and ashes.

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Some nice "straps"

[Graham C]

Great photos Red

The carts and vehicles seem to be in excellent condition, some real expertise there and those horses looked nice, I take it they are proper show quality? 

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My son-in-law Ben Gaskin, just out of bed and not best pleased at having his photo taken

Grandson Tom.

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Mrs Red takes it easy.

[Karabiner]

Great pics. Tom.

Those horses have feet like soup plates, and the waggons look magnificent, as do your fine looking grandkids.

I wish I could sit around the campfire and listen to the stories.