Stourbridge Fair and the Kendal Men

Stourbridge Fair, held in the fields by the Cam outside Cambridge, was once reckoned the largest fair in England, supplying the eastern counties with cloth and household goods. In 1825 it was proclaimed on 19 September for a fortnight, and the corporation of Cambridge rode out in procession to proclaim it. Fuller told how it began with a Kendal clothier selling off cloth that had got wet on the road, and said the Kendal men kept a privilege there, choosing a chief each year and carrying a sword before him. The fair was last held in 1933.