Friday 13 June 2008

Exeter Summer Festival ~Part One :The Lammas Fair


Each year,the City of Exeter upholds the tradition of celebrating the Lammas Fair.
The annual ceremony of the Proclamation of the Lammas Fair, dates back more than 900 years!
I went along this morning, to watch this fascinating and colourful piece of tradition.
The Mayor departs from the Civic Centre, in the former Sheriff's coach,with a procession of school children, clad in period costume.They process to the Guildhall (which , incidentally, is one of the oldest in the country).







Leading the procession is the Mace Sergeant ...it is his very important role to carry the Lammas Fair Glove!

The Lammas Fair Glove was a sign of Royal protection of the peace. The glove is a large leather stuffed glove,attached to a long pole and decorated with ribbons and a garland of flowers.


After the declaration which declared the fair open, it was the hoisting of the glove from the verandah of the Guildhall .


There were many onlookers!


I then made my way to the Cathedral Green ;-)

6 comments:

  1. That glove looks huge!!! Enjoy the rest of the festival weekend!

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  2. Love it! Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Great pics, thanks for sharing them with us.
    Twiggy x

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  4. How fantastic! I love England for it's eccentric ancient customs. That's partly why I took part in the Lichfield Bower thing. It's been going for so long and I would hate it to dwindle away. The useless weather just puts so many people off attending.
    The glove and staff are fabulous. Can't wait for the next instalment.
    btw the Wednesday Car Boot sale is on the outskirts of Lichfield just before you reach Shire Oak.

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  5. I love the horses. They are so beautiful! XXX

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  6. Glad you had a nice day for it. It is good that the villages, towns and cities keep up with these old traditions. It would be such a shame if they were forgotten about forever. x

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Thank you for taking the time to comment! ;-)