Michaelmas

Next: Wednesday 29 September 2027

29 September, the feast of St Michael and a quarter day, when hiring fairs and goose fairs were held.

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The year from Thursday 5 November

Monday 4 October

Mon 4 Oct 12:00 22:00
Custom

Cirencester Mop

Sets off from Market Place, Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Mon 4 Oct 12:00 23:00
Custom, day 1 of 2

Abingdon Michaelmas Fair

Sets off from Market Place, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Tuesday 5 October

Tue 5 Oct Abingdon Michaelmas Fair day 2 of 2 · 12:00–23:00

Friday 8 October

Fri 8 Oct 16:00 23:00
Custom, day 1 of 2

Tewkesbury Mop Fair

Sets off from The Cross, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire

Saturday 9 October

Sat 9 Oct Tewkesbury Mop Fair day 2 of 2 · 16:00–23:00

Monday 11 October

Mon 11 Oct All day
Custom

Abingdon Runaway Fair

Sets off from Market Place, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Mon 11 Oct 08:00 22:00
Custom

Pack Monday Fair

Sets off from The Conduit, Sherborne, Dorset

Wednesday 13 October

Wed 13 Oct All day
Custom, day 1 of 4

Banbury Michaelmas Fair

Sets off from Market Place, Banbury, Oxfordshire
Wed 13 Oct 09:00 21:00
Custom

Tavistock Goosey Fair

Sets off from Bedford Square, Tavistock, Devon

Thursday 14 October

Thu 14 Oct All day
Custom, day 1 of 3

Pembroke St Michaelmas Fair

Sets off from Main Street (by the Town Hall), Pembroke, Pembrokeshire
- Fair or wakes
- Michaelmas
Thu 14 Oct Banbury Michaelmas Fair day 2 of 4 · All day

Friday 15 October Hunter’s Moon

Fri 15 Oct Pembroke St Michaelmas Fair day 2 of 3 · All day
Fri 15 Oct Banbury Michaelmas Fair day 3 of 4 · All day
Fri 15 Oct 17:00 22:00
Custom, day 1 of 2

Warwick Mop

Sets off from Market Place, Warwick, Warwickshire

Saturday 16 October

Sat 16 Oct Pembroke St Michaelmas Fair day 3 of 3 · All day
Sat 16 Oct Banbury Michaelmas Fair day 4 of 4 · All day
Sat 16 Oct from 12:00
Custom

Marlborough Big Mop

Sets off from High Street, Marlborough, Wiltshire
Sat 16 Oct Warwick Mop day 2 of 2 · 17:00–22:00

Folklore from the old calendars

A freeholder of Macclesfield at Michaelmas Lore and belief CheshireIn Cheshire a greedy eater was said to feed like a freeholder of Macclesfield, who has neither corn nor hay at Michaelmas.
Apple-throwing at Kidderminster No longer kept WorcestershireOn the first Monday after Michaelmas, when Kidderminster's magistrate and officers took office, each of them threw apples to the crowd from their windows or from the town hall, often twenty or thirty baskets in all.
Burying the Mace at Nottingham No longer kept NottinghamshireOn Michaelmas Day, when Nottingham's new mayor took office, the corporation went in procession to St Mary's Church.
Carrying the Fly away at Michaelmas No longer kept OxfordshireOn Michaelmas Day the Oxford cooks rode out again to the green to carry away the Fly they had fetched in at Whitsun.
Chopping Sticks and Counting Hobnails Still kept London, ShropshireAt Michaelmas the new sheriffs of London went by barge to Westminster to be sworn in at the Court of Exchequer, where the City also paid two ancient quit rents.
Clack Fall Fair and the Mop No longer kept WiltshireClack's fall fair was kept on Old Michaelmas Day, when farm lads stood about the Mop in clean smock frocks and maid servants waited in a corner to be hired.
Crab-apple Initials on Old Michaelmas Day Lore and belief West CountryAbout Michaelmas village girls in the west of England went along the hedges gathering crab apples, carried them home and laid them out in a loft in the shapes of the initials of their supposed suitors.
Crack-Nut Sunday at Kingston No longer kept SurreyOn the Sunday before Michaelmas Eve, people of all ages at Kingston upon Thames cracked nuts in church, loudly enough to disturb the service.
Electing the magistrates at Michaelmas No longer kept EnglandTown councils and magistrates were chosen on Michaelmas Day, and Chambers traced the custom to the medieval belief in guardian angels.
Fresh herring and fat crones at Michaelmas No longer kept EnglandMichaelmas brought fresh herring in plenty and the fattened crones, old ewes too worn in the teeth to keep the sheepwalk.
Ganging Day No longer kept HertfordshireOn Old Michaelmas Day young men in Hertfordshire met in the fields, chose a leader and had to follow him wherever he went, through ponds and ditches and over brake and briar.
Goose on Michaelmas Day Lore and belief EnglandRoast goose was the Michaelmas dinner, when stubble geese were at their best, and it was said that whoever ate goose that day would never want money all year.
Guardian angels at Michaelmas Lore and belief EnglandMichaelmas, the feast of St Michael and all angels, was the usual time to elect the governors of towns and cities.
Half an Apple Goes to the Core Lore and belief SuffolkThe 1849 edition of Brand prints a rhyme said to be proverbial in Suffolk for Michaelmas and the apple season.
Hipping Day No longer kept YorkshireIn Yorkshire Michaelmas Day was called Hipping Day, after a confection made from hips, the red berries of the wild rose.
Horses round the Hill of Angels on Iona No longer kept Argyll, Inner HebridesOn the feast of St Michael the people of Iona brought their horses to a small stone circle on the Hill of Angels and raced them round it.
Michaelmas rent and the landlord’s credit No longer kept EnglandMichaelmas, 29 September, was the quarter day when rents fell due and the landlord came to collect.
Nottingham Goose Fair Still kept NottinghamshireNottingham's great holiday fair was held on 2, 3 and 4 October, straight after Michaelmas.
Pack Monday and the horn boys Still kept DorsetSherborne's great fair was held on the first Monday after 10 October, with cattle, sheep and horses in the fields and shows, stalls and gingerbread in the town.
Saint Michael and the marsh wall No longer kept EnglandMichaelmas was the time to mend the sea walls round the coastal marshes before the winter tides.
Spectral lights on the cistfaens at Michaelmas Lore and belief WalesAn old Welsh superstition held that at Michaelmas the cistfaens, the stone graves of ancient warriors, were lit by spectral lights all over Wales.
St Michael feathering his geese Lore and belief Denbighshire, WalesFalling snow was said in Wales to be St Michael, the patron of geese, feathering his flock in heaven, and the first goose brought to table was the Michaelmas goose, also called a green goose.
St Michael’s Bannock No longer kept Inner Hebrides, Outer HebridesMartin's account of the Western Isles, quoted by Hone, says the islanders kept St Michael's Day with a cavalcade in each parish, and at Kilbar with a turn round the church.
St Michael’s Sheep in Ireland No longer kept IrelandMacaulay, quoted by Hone, says that in Ireland every family that could afford it killed a sheep on Michaelmas Day, and part of it had by law to go to the poor.
Statutes and Mops Still kept WarwickshireFarm servants in Warwickshire looked for new places at the statute fairs, called mops, held from early September until Old Michaelmas Day, when servants moved to their new masters.
Stying the boar for Hallowtide brawn No longer kept EnglandAt Michaelmas the boar was shut up in his sty to fatten for brawn, ready for killing at Hallowtide.
The devil’s foot on the brambles Lore and belief Northern EnglandNorthern children were warned never to eat blackberries after Michaelmas Day, because the devil passed his cloven foot over them then.
The goose intentos No longer kept LancashireLancashire husbandmen claimed a goose as their due on the sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, and called it the goose intentos.
The Hastings curfew from Michaelmas No longer kept SussexAt Hastings the curfew bell was still tolled at eight o'clock every evening through the winter half of the year, from Michaelmas to Lady Day.
The Lawless Court No longer kept EssexOn the Wednesday after Michaelmas, tenants of the manors around Rochford had to attend a court held on King's Hill at first cock-crow, in the dark.
The Lawless Hour at Kidderminster No longer kept WorcestershireWhen Kidderminster chose its bailiff at Michaelmas, the town-house bell gave the signal for an hour in which the townspeople pelted each other with cabbage stalks in the main streets.
The Michaelmas cavalcade on Canna No longer kept Inner Hebrides, Inverness-shireEvery man on Canna rode out at Michaelmas on an unsaddled horse with a girl or his neighbour's wife behind him, and rode back and forth between the village and a cross.
The Michaelmas daisy Lore and belief EnglandThe Michaelmas daisy was said to bloom among the dead weeds for St Michael's valorous deeds, and to be the last flower standing until the feast of St Simon and St Jude in late October.
The Moon and the Michaelmas Floods Lore and belief EnglandAn old weather saying held that you could count the floods of the coming season from the moon on Michaelmas Day.
The new farmer comes in at Michaelmas No longer kept EnglandMichaelmas was when a new farmer took over his farm and had to start his husbandry afresh.
The Old Mayor’s Geese at Nottingham No longer kept NottinghamshireNottingham chose its mayor on Michaelmas Day, and Deering's History of Nottingham records that the outgoing mayor used to give hot roast geese at his house that morning, before the election of his successor.
The Runaway Mop No longer kept WarwickshireA few Warwickshire hiring fairs were held after Old Michaelmas Day and were known as runaway mops.
The Welsh Michaelmas cake No longer kept WalesAt Michaelmas the Welsh housewife baked a very large loaf-cake of currant dough risen with barm, called the Michaelmas cake.
Tufts of wool at the Wycombe hiring No longer kept BuckinghamshireAt the Michaelmas hiring fair in High Wycombe market place, farm servants showed their trade on their hats: shepherds wore tufts of wool, cowmen a tuft of hair and ploughmen knotted whipcord.
Winter fruit gathered after Michaelmas Lore and belief EnglandFruit meant to keep was to be gathered with the moon on the wane, and winter fruit not until Michaelmas was past.

Monday 4 October

Tuesday 5 October

Friday 8 October

Saturday 9 October

Monday 11 October

Wednesday 13 October

Thursday 14 October

Friday 15 October🌕 Hunter’s Moon

Saturday 16 October

Folklore from the old calendars

Image credits

Friday 15 October Hunter’s Moon