A correspondent who had it from a man at the fairs of 1766 and 1767 told Hone of an officer at Stourbridge Fair called the Lord of the Tap. He wore a red coat like the other servants, hung about the shoulders and arms with spigots and faucets. His duty was to visit every booth that sold ale and judge whether it was fit to drink. The office had evidently lapsed by 1806, when an account of the fair printed at Cambridge left him out.
The Lord of the Tap
Printed under 16 November · Stourbridge Common, Cambridge
No longer kept
He was called "Lord of the Tap," and his duty consisted in visiting all the booths in which ale was sold
From Hone's Every-Day Book, vol. 1, cols. 1487-1488. Read the original
Get a copy: Amazon · Bookshop.org · AbeBooks
We may earn a small commission if you buy through these links.
Questions and comments